Bank of New Hampshire Grows Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Bank of New Hampshire increased its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,765 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 729 shares during the period. Bank of New Hampshire’s holdings in Aflac were worth $2,621,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AFL. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC increased its position 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 acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL stock traded up $0.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $83.74. 652,893 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,258,139. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.06 and a current ratio of 0.06. The company has a market cap of $48.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.80, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $82.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.71. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $64.10 and a 52-week high of $86.26.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Albert Riggieri sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.34, for a total value of $666,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 32,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,735,635.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 30,493 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.91, for a total value of $2,436,695.63. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 86,090 shares in the company, valued at $6,879,451.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Albert Riggieri sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.34, for a total transaction of $666,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 32,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,735,635.50. 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 90 days. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $61.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Aflac from $83.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.