CoreCap Advisors LLC Sells 34,909 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

CoreCap Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 89.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 34,909 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $468,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 188.5% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Aflac during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Aflac by 100.0% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Aflac in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $108.05 on Tuesday. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $119.32. The company has a 50-day moving average of $111.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $110.38. The company has a market cap of $55.67 billion, a PE ratio of 15.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.45 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 14.35%. Aflac’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.57 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 19,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.96, for a total transaction of $2,141,528.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 52,241,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,796,716,840. This represents a 0.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 15,590 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.93, for a total value of $1,713,808.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 62,237 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,841,713.41. This represents a 20.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 235,077 shares of company stock worth $25,690,082 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $119.00 price objective (up from $110.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Barclays set a $101.00 price target on Aflac and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Aflac from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $120.00 price objective on Aflac in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.00.

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.