Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Buys Shares of 132,540 Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 132,540 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $14,564,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Trust Co of the South boosted its stake in Aflac by 43.3% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 2,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Aflac by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 15,425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,701,000 after buying an additional 1,512 shares during the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the third quarter valued at about $84,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 25.2% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 8,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $976,000 after buying an additional 1,746 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd boosted its position in Aflac by 2.3% during the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 128,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,392,000 after acquiring an additional 2,867 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Steven Kent Beaver sold 7,387 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.58, for a total value of $839,015.46. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 40,526 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,602,943.08. This represents a 15.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 15,700 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.77, for a total transaction of $1,723,389.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 52,100,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,719,115,793. This trade represents a 0.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 166,777 shares of company stock valued at $18,372,173. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE AFL opened at $107.21 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $110.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $55.36 billion, a PE ratio of 15.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.66. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $96.95 and a twelve month high of $119.32.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.45 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 14.35%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.57 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Aflac from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Mizuho set a $107.00 price objective on Aflac in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $120.00 target price on Aflac in a report on Monday, December 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.73.

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.