Blueshift Asset Management LLC Buys New Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Key Points

• Blueshift Asset Management LLC has acquired 4,304 shares of Aflac Incorporated, valued at approximately $479,000, during the first quarter, as reported in their Form 13F filing with the SEC.
• Several other investors have also increased their stakes in Aflac, including Brighton Jones LLC, which raised its stake by 64.4% in the fourth quarter.
• Analysts have issued mixed ratings for Aflac, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $108.15, reflecting varying confidence in the stock's performance.

Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 4,304 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $479,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 121.9% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 304 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Aflac during the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Aflac by 90.8% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 330 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 37,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.59, for a total transaction of $3,906,830.00. Following the sale, the director owned 70,992 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,496,045.28. This trade represents a 34.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.79, for a total transaction of $106,790.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 26,096 shares in the company, valued at $2,786,791.84. This represents a 3.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 40,750 shares of company stock worth $4,304,295. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Aflac Trading Down 1.3%

AFL stock traded down $1.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $98.10. 2,768,314 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,180,205. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $102.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a current ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.04 billion, a PE ratio of 15.33, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.83. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $95.97 and a one year high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.53 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 15.55%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 37.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on AFL. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Barclays set a $98.00 price target on shares of Aflac and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $108.15.

Aflac Profile

Aflac Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, provides supplemental health and life insurance products. The company operates through Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S. segments. The Aflac Japan segment offers cancer, medical, nursing care, work leave, GIFT, and whole and term life insurance products, as well as WAYS and child endowment plans under saving type insurance products in Japan.