Machina Capital S.A.S. Buys New Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 44,868 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,012,000. Aflac makes up about 0.9% of Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AFL. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 188.5% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Aflac by 1,526.7% during the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Hilltop National Bank bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFL has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $120.00 target price on Aflac in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Aflac from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $110.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 15,862 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total value of $1,776,544.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 230,688 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,837,056. This represents a 6.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 786 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.75, for a total transaction of $89,407.50. Following the sale, the director owned 24,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,824,298.75. This represents a 3.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 31,766 shares of company stock valued at $3,549,706 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Up 0.1%

Aflac stock opened at $112.08 on Wednesday. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $96.95 and a 52 week high of $115.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $109.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.44.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.72. The company had revenue of $4.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 14.97% and a net margin of 23.55%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 59.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.16 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Aflac’s payout ratio is presently 30.29%.

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.