Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Buys 10,040 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its Aflac stake by 2.7%, buying 10,040 shares to hold 385,490 shares worth about $42.51 million (roughly 0.07% of the company).
• Analysts' consensus rating is a Hold with a consensus price target of $111.36, after mixed recent changes to targets and a ratings mix of 1 Strong Buy, 3 Buy, 6 Hold and 2 Sell.
• Aflac reported quarterly EPS of $1.75, missing estimates by $0.05 while revenue rose 27.9% to $4.24 billion, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share (annualized $2.44, ~2.2% yield).

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 385,490 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,040 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC owned 0.07% of Aflac worth $42,508,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the second quarter worth $33,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in Aflac by 95.6% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 311 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Aflac by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 324 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AFL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Mizuho set a $104.00 target price on Aflac in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen lowered Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $111.36.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL stock opened at $113.48 on Thursday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $111.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $110.92. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $96.95 and a one year high of $119.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.46 billion, a PE ratio of 12.88, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.66 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is 27.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 86,155 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.24, for a total value of $9,756,192.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,636,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,847,367,651.80. This trade represents a 0.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 572,632 shares of company stock worth $63,514,634. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

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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