Freestone Capital Holdings LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Freestone Capital Holdings LLC increased its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 168 shares during the quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $3,798,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership purchased a new position in Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its position in Aflac by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total transaction of $2,558,529.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $108.20 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $104.89 and its 200 day moving average is $107.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market cap of $59.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.27, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $79.31 and a 1 year high of $115.50.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AFL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.36.

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.