Intech Investment Management LLC Has $26.11 Million Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 252.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 252,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 180,781 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $26,113,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AFL. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Raelipskie Partnership bought a new stake in Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AFL shares. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Aflac has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.36.

Aflac Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE AFL opened at $108.47 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $79.31 and a twelve month high of $115.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.29 billion, a PE ratio of 11.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $105.51 and its 200 day moving average is $107.67.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 49,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,360,422.98. This represents a 37.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the company’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 55,546 shares of company stock valued at $5,863,616. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac 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.