Barclays PLC Has $125.46 Million Stake in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Barclays PLC reduced its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 36.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,123,170 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 645,536 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $125,458,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in Aflac by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,731,482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $193,407,000 after purchasing an additional 163,791 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Aflac by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,768,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $196,662,000 after buying an additional 65,308 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 126.1% during the third quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 21,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,384,000 after buying an additional 11,903 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Aflac by 12.0% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 97,344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,841,000 after buying an additional 10,423 shares during the period. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Aflac by 31.0% in the third quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 55,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,146,000 after acquiring an additional 13,017 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Steven Kent Beaver sold 7,387 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.58, for a total transaction of $839,015.46. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 40,526 shares in the company, valued at $4,602,943.08. This trade represents a 15.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $120.00 target price on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, December 15th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Barclays set a $101.00 target price on Aflac and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $119.00 target price (up from $110.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.73.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL stock opened at $111.48 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $119.32. 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 firm has a market cap of $57.56 billion, a PE ratio of 16.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.66. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $111.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $110.25.

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

About Aflac

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.