Matrix Trust Co Increases Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Matrix Trust Co raised its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the quarter. Matrix Trust Co’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,772,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AFL. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 471.4% in the 3rd quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 3,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total value of $239,190.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $445,850.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 5,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.62, for a total value of $423,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,516,390.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 3,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total value of $239,190.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $445,850.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 46,493 shares of company stock valued at $3,765,706 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Aflac stock traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $83.61. 1,839,028 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,169,786. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.06 and a quick ratio of 0.06. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $81.75. The company has a market capitalization of $48.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.78, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.91. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $64.10 and a 12-month high of $86.26.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.22). The company had revenue of $3.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 24.92%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.29 EPS. Analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Aflac from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Raymond James raised their price target on Aflac from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Evercore ISI cut Aflac from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $76.00 to $78.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Aflac from $61.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.15.

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.