Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Sells 689,342 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lowered its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 72.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 268,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 689,342 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Aflac were worth $29,459,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. DNB Asset Management AS grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 51.3% during the fourth quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 168,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,526,000 after purchasing an additional 56,975 shares in the last quarter. BIP Wealth LLC raised its stake in Aflac by 348.3% in the fourth quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 55,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,145,000 after purchasing an additional 43,293 shares in the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,743,000. Dorato Capital Management bought a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $20,865,000. Finally, Atlas Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,802,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of AFL opened at $125.61 on Monday. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $96.95 and a fifty-two week high of $125.93. The firm has a market cap of $63.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.26, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $118.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $114.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. Aflac’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.66 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (up from $101.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $124.00 price objective (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $108.00 target price (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Mizuho set a $112.00 price target on Aflac in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $116.17.

Insider Activity

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 12,370 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 33,310 shares in the company, valued at $3,881,947.40. This represents a 27.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 27,845 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.71, for a total value of $3,249,789.95. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 50,898,490 shares in the company, valued at $5,940,362,767.90. This trade represents a 0.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 744,916 shares of company stock valued at $87,118,632. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.