Achmea Investment Management B.V. Sells 236,976 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Achmea Investment Management B.V. reduced its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 86.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 36,561 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 236,976 shares during the quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $4,084,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,414,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $493,047,000 after purchasing an additional 310,220 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 16.7% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,167,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $439,545,000 after acquiring an additional 594,971 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $432,201,000. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Aflac by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,926,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $438,621,000 after acquiring an additional 13,666 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in Aflac by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,631,876 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $297,583,000 after purchasing an additional 261,547 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of AFL opened at $107.89 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $111.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $110.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.71 billion, a PE ratio of 15.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.66. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $96.95 and a 12-month high of $119.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.45 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 21.24%.Aflac’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AFL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report 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. Mizuho set a $107.00 price target on Aflac in a report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Three research 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, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.73.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 19,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.96, for a total value of $2,141,528.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 52,241,500 shares in the company, valued at $5,796,716,840. This represents a 0.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 15,590 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.93, for a total transaction of $1,713,808.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 62,237 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,841,713.41. The trade was a 20.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 151,077 shares of company stock valued at $16,648,784. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.