Aflac Incorporated $AFL Shares Bought by Legal & General Group Plc

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc modestly boosted its Aflac stake in Q3 to 3,926,777 shares (about 0.75% ownership), a position valued at roughly $438.6 million, while institutional investors collectively own about 67.44% of the stock.
• Aflac missed quarterly expectations, reporting $1.57 EPS vs. $1.69 expected and $4.28 billion in revenue vs. $4.45 billion expected, with revenue down 9.6% year-over-year.
• Analysts are mixed—the consensus rating is an average "Hold" with an average target price of $111.73, after several recent target and rating adjustments by major brokerages.

Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,926,777 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 13,666 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.75% of Aflac worth $438,621,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Aflac by 64.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,507,000 after buying an additional 5,708 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $455,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 5.4% in the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 18,137 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,913,000 after purchasing an additional 930 shares in the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Aflac by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 2,716 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Midwest Trust Co purchased a new position in Aflac during the second quarter valued at approximately $899,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on AFL shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Barclays set a $101.00 price objective on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $119.00 price objective (up from $110.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b+)" rating on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $111.73.

Aflac Trading Up 0.2%

AFL stock opened at $110.35 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business's 50 day moving average is $111.70 and its 200-day moving average is $110.30. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $119.32. The firm has a market cap of $56.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.66.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $4.28 billion for 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%.The firm's revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.57 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Steven Kent Beaver sold 7,387 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was 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 directly owned 40,526 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,602,943.08. The trade was a 15.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 19,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.77, for a total value of $2,115,707.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 52,222,400 shares in the company, valued at $5,784,675,248. The trade was a 0.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 51,279 shares of company stock valued at $5,697,789. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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