Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. Grows Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Greatmark Investment Partners raised its Aflac stake by 17.3% to 588,568 shares, making Aflac its largest holding (≈7.7% of the firm's portfolio) valued at about $64.9 million.
• Major shareholder Post Holdings sold 166,000 Aflac shares under a Rule 10b5‑1 plan (avg $112.38), and insiders have sold 572,632 shares over the past 90 days while owning roughly 0.8% of the company.
• Aflac missed quarterly expectations (EPS $1.57 vs. $1.69 consensus) with revenue down 9.6%; the stock trades at a ~16.6 PE and carries a consensus analyst rating of Hold with a $111.82 target.

Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 17.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 588,568 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 86,837 shares during the quarter. Aflac comprises approximately 7.7% of Greatmark Investment Partners Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its largest position. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. owned about 0.11% of Aflac worth $64,901,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in Aflac by 188.5% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 225 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Aflac by 100.0% during 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. purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 166,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.38, for a total value of $18,655,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,723,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,812,641,978. This trade represents a 0.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 572,632 shares of company stock valued at $63,514,634 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Aflac Trading Up 0.7%

AFL stock opened at $114.51 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $111.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $110.61. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $96.95 and a fifty-two week high of $119.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market cap of $58.99 billion, a PE ratio of 16.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.66.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.12). Aflac had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 14.35%. The business had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.45 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.57 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Aflac from $118.00 to $116.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Mizuho set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Aflac and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Evercore raised shares of Aflac from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $111.82.

Aflac Company 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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