Southern Capital Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Southern Capital Advisors LLC lowered its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 52.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 19,455 shares during the quarter. Aflac comprises about 0.9% of Southern Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Southern Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,978,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Aflac by 1,184.5% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,264,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $141,199,000 after acquiring an additional 1,165,676 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Aflac by 132.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,227,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $137,078,000 after acquiring an additional 699,080 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in Aflac by 180.5% in the third quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 252,457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,320,000 after acquiring an additional 565,884 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its position in Aflac by 402.9% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 653,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $73,035,000 after acquiring an additional 523,845 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Aflac by 7.6% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,414,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $493,047,000 after acquiring an additional 310,220 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Up 1.2%

AFL opened at $116.01 on Wednesday. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $96.95 and a 52 week high of $119.32. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $110.67. The firm has a market cap of $59.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.12). Aflac had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 21.24%.The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 166,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.38, for a total value of $18,655,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 51,723,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,812,641,978. This trade represents a 0.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 572,632 shares of company stock valued at $63,514,634 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays set a $101.00 price objective on Aflac and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Evercore raised shares of Aflac from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Mizuho set a $102.00 target price on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.82.

About Aflac

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.