Millstone Evans Group LLC Takes $49,000 Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 470 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $49,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 6.4% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,694,511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $524,846,000 after buying an additional 281,148 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,226,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $333,768,000 after purchasing an additional 47,119 shares during the period. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 81.1% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,753,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $285,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,232,683 shares during the period. Guinness Asset Management LTD increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 2,395,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $247,682,000 after purchasing an additional 118,720 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,616,772 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $167,239,000 after purchasing an additional 32,220 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of AFL opened at $108.10 on Monday. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $79.31 and a 52-week high of $115.50. The business’s fifty day moving average is $105.95 and its 200-day moving average is $107.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market cap of $59.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.26, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. Equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total transaction of $3,197,456.58. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,360,422.98. This trade represents a 37.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total value of $2,558,529.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 55,546 shares of company stock worth $5,863,616. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.36.

About Aflac

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.