Cwm LLC Raises Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Cwm LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,922 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,983 shares during the period. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $2,304,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 471.4% during the 3rd quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Aflac from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Aflac from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $76.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Three research 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, Aflac has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $82.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total transaction of $239,190.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,592 shares in the company, valued at $445,850.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 3,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total transaction of $239,190.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $445,850.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Albert Riggieri sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.34, for a total transaction of $666,720.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 32,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,735,635.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 46,493 shares of company stock valued at $3,765,706 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $83.73 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $82.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $48.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.80, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.91. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $64.10 and a 52-week high of $86.26.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued 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 net margin of 24.92% and a return on equity of 17.59%. The firm had revenue of $3.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.29 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Company Profile

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.