G&S Capital LLC Acquires 12,551 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

G&S Capital LLC raised its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 65.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,825 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 12,551 shares during the quarter. Aflac makes up approximately 1.2% of G&S Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. G&S Capital LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $2,626,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 146,095 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,053,000 after purchasing an additional 31,717 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $279,000. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,830 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. Aspiriant LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Finally, GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 32.9% in the fourth quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. now owns 16,060 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,325,000 after purchasing an additional 3,972 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AFL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Aflac from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Aflac from $83.00 to $81.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Aflac from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Aflac from $61.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Three 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $81.85.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL traded down $3.28 on Thursday, hitting $79.64. The company had a trading volume of 3,399,027 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,233,554. The business has a 50 day moving average of $81.81 and a 200 day moving average of $81.34. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $64.10 and a 52-week high of $86.26. The company has a market cap of $45.83 billion, a PE ratio of 10.28, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.22). Aflac had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 24.92%. The business had revenue of $3.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.62, for a total value of $423,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,516,390.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total value of $239,190.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $445,850.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.62, for a total value of $423,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,920 shares in the company, valued at $1,516,390.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 46,493 shares of company stock worth $3,765,706. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Aflac

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.