Alpha Windward LLC Increases Position in Aflac Incorporated (AFL)

Alpha Windward LLC increased its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 11.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 339 shares during the period. Alpha Windward LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 7.7% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $101,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Harfst & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the first quarter worth approximately $128,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.3% in the first quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,391 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $166,000 after buying an additional 7 shares during the period. Bollard Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.6% in the first quarter. Bollard Group LLC now owns 2,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $168,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 64.1% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $203,000 after buying an additional 1,061 shares during the period. 64.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE AFL) traded down 0.14% during trading on Friday, hitting $77.57. The stock had a trading volume of 1,327,164 shares. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.78 billion, a PE ratio of 12.62 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $77.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.48. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $66.50 and a 1-year high of $79.86.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $5.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.40 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 11.24% and a return on equity of 12.82%. Aflac’s revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.74 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post $6.52 EPS for the current year.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AFL shares. Zacks Investment Research raised Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, April 17th. Vetr raised Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $77.50 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 18th. Barclays PLC boosted their target price on Aflac from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 3rd. Deutsche Bank AG boosted their target price on Aflac from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 19th. Finally, FBR & Co reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $80.00 target price (up from $68.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, July 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. The stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.54.

In related news, insider Teresa L. White sold 11,314 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.01, for a total value of $882,605.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,094,334.47. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, President Kriss Cloninger III sold 2,500 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.72, for a total transaction of $194,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 241,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,780,727.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 236,703 shares of company stock worth $18,328,514 in the last ninety days. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Aflac

Aflac Incorporated is a business holding company. The Company is involved in supplemental health and life insurance, which is marketed and administered through its subsidiary, American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus (Aflac). The Company’s insurance business consists of two segments: Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S.

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