Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 8,425 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lowered its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 5.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 142,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,425 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Aflac were worth $15,906,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in Aflac by 188.5% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 100.0% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the second quarter worth $42,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Aflac in the third quarter worth $45,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Steven Kent Beaver sold 7,387 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.58, for a total transaction of $839,015.46. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 40,526 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,602,943.08. This represents a 15.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold a total of 16,331 shares of company stock valued at $1,817,720 over the last quarter. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AFL shares. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Mizuho set a $107.00 price target on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $120.00 price objective on Aflac in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Evercore increased their target price on Aflac from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.73.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $112.75 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $111.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $110.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $119.32.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.45 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 21.24%.The firm’s revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Profile

Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is a provider of supplemental insurance products designed to help policyholders manage out-of-pocket health care and living expenses. The company underwrites a range of individual and group policies that typically pay cash benefits directly to insureds when covered events occur, enabling greater financial flexibility for medical treatment, hospital stays, critical illness, and related costs. Aflac’s product mix includes supplemental health insurance, life insurance and other specialty coverages intended to complement primary medical plans.

Founded in the mid-20th century and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac distributes its products through a combination of employer-sponsored programs, independent brokers and agents, and direct marketing.