US Bancorp DE Has $21.04 Million Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

US Bancorp DE lowered its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 188,313 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,476 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Aflac were worth $21,035,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 10.4% in the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,731,482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $193,407,000 after acquiring an additional 163,791 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Aflac by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,768,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $196,662,000 after purchasing an additional 65,308 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Aflac by 126.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 21,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,384,000 after purchasing an additional 11,903 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in Aflac by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 97,344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,841,000 after purchasing an additional 10,423 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 31.0% in the 3rd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 55,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,146,000 after purchasing an additional 13,017 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $119.00 price objective (up from $110.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $120.00 price objective on Aflac in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Barclays set a $101.00 target price on Aflac and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.73.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE AFL opened at $112.75 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $58.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.39, a PEG ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $109.98. 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 12-month low of $96.95 and a 12-month high of $119.32.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $4.28 billion during 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.57 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, EVP Steven Kent Beaver sold 7,387 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.58, for a total transaction of $839,015.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 40,526 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,602,943.08. The trade was a 15.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 16,331 shares of company stock valued at $1,817,720. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Aflac 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.