NEOS Investment Management LLC Purchases 19,368 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

NEOS Investment Management LLC grew its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 40.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 67,374 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,368 shares during the period. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $7,526,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the second quarter valued at approximately $432,201,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Aflac by 16.7% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,167,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $439,545,000 after acquiring an additional 594,971 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Aflac by 459.0% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 701,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $73,969,000 after purchasing an additional 575,915 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Aflac by 146.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 772,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $81,422,000 after purchasing an additional 458,551 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in Aflac by 65.5% during the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 975,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $102,861,000 after purchasing an additional 385,955 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, EVP Steven Kent Beaver sold 5,492 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.53, for a total value of $601,538.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 38,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,202,447.04. The trade was a 12.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Down 1.5%

NYSE AFL opened at $113.68 on Thursday. 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 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 $111.14 and a 200-day moving average of $109.49. The company has a market cap of $59.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.52, a PEG ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.67.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $4.87 billion for 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%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.57 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AFL. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $119.00 target price (up previously from $110.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Evercore increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Barclays set a $101.00 price objective on Aflac and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Mizuho set a $107.00 target price on Aflac in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Aflac from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $110.91.

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.