D.A. Davidson & CO. Purchases 27,751 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in Aflac by 77.3% in Q4, buying an additional 27,751 shares to hold 63,646 shares worth about $7.02 million.
• Major insider selling: Post Holdings sold 86,155 Aflac shares at an average $113.24 under a Rule 10b5‑1 plan, and insiders have sold 572,632 shares (~$63.5M) in the past 90 days.
• Recent results and analyst view: Aflac missed Q4 EPS ($1.57 vs. $1.69) with revenue down 9.6% year-over-year; the stock trades near $116, has a ~$59.9B market cap, and carries an average analyst rating of "Hold" with a $111.82 target.

D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 77.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 63,646 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 27,751 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.'s holdings in Aflac were worth $7,018,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AFL. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in Aflac by 188.5% during the third 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 position in Aflac during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Aflac by 100.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 324 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Aflac during the third quarter worth about $45,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 86,155 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.24, for a total transaction of $9,756,192.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 51,636,945 shares in the company, valued at $5,847,367,651.80. This represents a 0.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 572,632 shares of company stock worth $63,514,634. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL stock opened at $116.20 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $96.95 and a twelve month high of $119.32. The company has a market cap of $59.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $110.78.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $4.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.57 earnings per share. Aflac's quarterly revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AFL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Aflac from $118.00 to $116.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Mizuho set a $102.00 target price on Aflac and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Aflac from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Barclays set a $101.00 target price on Aflac and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $111.82.

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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