Voleon Capital Management LP Buys New Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Voleon Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $250,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total transaction of $107,630.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,733,048.59. This represents a 3.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total value of $3,197,456.58. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 49,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,360,422.98. This represents a 37.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on AFL shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Aflac from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.00.

Aflac Trading Down 4.7 %

NYSE:AFL opened at $103.60 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $107.42 and its 200-day moving average is $106.99. 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 12 month low of $80.59 and a 12 month high of $115.50. The firm has a market cap of $56.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.01). Aflac had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. The firm had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.66 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 37.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be issued a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 21st. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.17%.

About Aflac

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.