Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Has $10.97 Million Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 106,009 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,678 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $10,966,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth $203,000. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Aflac by 41.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 95.9% during the third quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $687,000 after acquiring an additional 3,007 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the third quarter valued at about $94,000. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Aflac by 5.5% in the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 30,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,450,000 after purchasing an additional 1,602 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE AFL opened at $104.67 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $57.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $105.24 and its 200-day moving average is $107.70. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $79.31 and a one year high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total transaction of $3,197,456.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,360,422.98. This represents a 37.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total value of $107,630.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 25,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,733,048.59. This represents a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 55,546 shares of company stock worth $5,863,616 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on AFL. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Aflac in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.36.

Aflac Company 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.