Vestor Capital LLC Sells 209,355 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Vestor Capital sharply reduced its Aflac position, selling 209,355 shares, or 99.7% of its holdings, during the first quarter and retaining just 687 shares valued at approximately $75,000.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with Aflac carrying a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $116.17, below its reported share price of $127.53.
• Aflac’s latest quarter showed 27.9% year-over-year revenue growth, though earnings per share of $1.75 missed expectations by $0.05. Insiders sold roughly 744,916 shares worth $87.1 million over the past three months.

Vestor Capital LLC reduced its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 99.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 687 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 209,355 shares during the quarter. Vestor Capital LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $75,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Stephens Inc. AR grew its position in Aflac by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 21,945 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,420,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Compound Planning Inc. increased its holdings in Aflac by 0.7% during the first quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 13,743 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,508,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its position in Aflac by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,119 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $234,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its position in Aflac by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 19,088 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,105,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its position in Aflac by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,702 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $902,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AFL. Evercore raised shares of Aflac from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $130.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $110.00 price target (up from $101.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Aflac from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Mizuho set a $112.00 price objective on Aflac in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $116.17.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 27,845 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.71, for a total transaction of $3,249,789.95. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 50,898,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,940,362,767.90. This represents a 0.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 12,370 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.54, for a total transaction of $1,441,599.80. Following the sale, the director owned 33,310 shares in the company, valued at $3,881,947.40. The trade was a 27.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 744,916 shares of company stock worth $87,118,632. Insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Aflac Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $127.53 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.61. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $96.95 and a 52-week high of $130.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $119.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.80.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.Aflac's revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.66 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.06 EPS for the current year.

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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