Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. Has $2.53 Million Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Key Points

• Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Aflac Incorporated by 36.6% in the first quarter, now holding 22,765 shares valued at approximately $2.53 million.
• Several other hedge funds have significantly increased their stakes in Aflac, with GAMMA Investing LLC raising its holdings by an impressive 12,313.9% to over 1.5 million shares.
• Aflac has received varied ratings from analysts, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a price target of $108.15, amid recent fluctuations in insider trading activity.

Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 36.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,765 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 13,164 shares during the period. Aflac comprises 1.2% of Ranch Capital Advisors Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Aflac were worth $2,531,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter worth about $70,000. Allianz SE raised its holdings in Aflac by 59.4% in the 1st quarter. Allianz SE now owns 13,902 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,546,000 after acquiring an additional 5,182 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in shares of Aflac by 12.4% in the first quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 356,558 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,646,000 after purchasing an additional 39,259 shares during the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 70.1% during the first quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 12,936 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,420,000 after purchasing an additional 5,333 shares during the period. Finally, Heritage Trust Co lifted its holdings in Aflac by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Heritage Trust Co now owns 21,646 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,407,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AFL. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Aflac from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays set a $98.00 target price on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $107.92.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 2,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.70, for a total value of $290,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,728 shares in the company, valued at $711,149.60. This trade represents a 29.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 37,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.59, for a total transaction of $3,906,830.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 70,992 shares in the company, valued at $7,496,045.28. The trade was a 34.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $102.24. The company had a trading volume of 3,594,871 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,323,618. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $102.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.91. The company has a market capitalization of $55.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.83. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $115.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a current ratio of 0.11.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 15.08% and a net margin of 15.32%. Aflac's revenue was down 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. Analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 20th. Aflac's payout ratio is 52.61%.

Aflac Company 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.