Picton Mahoney Asset Management Takes $870,000 Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 7,787 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $870,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 188.5% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Aflac by 100.0% during 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 during the last quarter. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac during the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Aflac during the third quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Steven Kent Beaver sold 7,387 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.58, for a total transaction of $839,015.46. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE:AFL opened at $111.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $111.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $110.23. The company has a market capitalization of $57.56 billion, a PE ratio of 16.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.66. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $119.32.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $4.45 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 21.24%.Aflac’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.57 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AFL. Barclays set a $101.00 price objective on Aflac and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Mizuho set a $107.00 price target on Aflac in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.73.

About Aflac

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.