Aflac Incorporated $AFL Shares Bought by WINTON GROUP Ltd

Key Points

• WINTON GROUP Ltd raised its stake in Aflac by 2,077.3% in Q3, buying 55,152 shares to hold 57,807 shares valued at about $6.457 million.
• Insiders have been net sellers — EVP Steven Kent Beaver sold 7,387 shares at an average of $113.58 on Feb. 20, and insiders sold 32,179 shares (~$3.58M) over the past three months; corporate insiders now own 0.80%.
• Analysts have a consensus "Hold" rating with a $111.73 target; Aflac recently missed quarterly EPS ($1.57 vs. $1.69 expected) and reported revenue down 9.6% year-over-year.

WINTON GROUP Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 2,077.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,807 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 55,152 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd's holdings in Aflac were worth $6,457,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AFL. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. grew its holdings in Aflac by 0.8% during the third quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 11,827 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,321,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Courier Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Aflac by 3.9% in the third quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 2,597 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $290,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 2,037 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 3,169 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $354,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Berkeley Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,669 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,303,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Steven Kent Beaver sold 7,387 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 40,526 shares in the company, valued at $4,602,943.08. The trade was a 15.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 19,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.96, for a total value of $2,141,528.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 52,241,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,796,716,840. This trade represents a 0.04% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 32,179 shares of company stock valued at $3,582,082. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on AFL. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $119.00 target price (up from $110.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Mizuho set a $107.00 target price on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b+)" rating on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $111.73.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $110.09 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $56.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.00, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.66. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $96.95 and a 52 week high of $119.32. The company's 50-day moving average price is $111.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $110.28. 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 (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.12). Aflac had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 21.24%.The business had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. The business's revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast 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.

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