Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Acquired by Financial Counselors Inc.

Financial Counselors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,789 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 642 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $702,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in shares of Aflac by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 7,643 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $791,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 6,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $662,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. TKG Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Aflac by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. TKG Advisors LLC now owns 21,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,230,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Aflac by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $720,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL opened at $109.71 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.43, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $106.49 and a 200-day moving average of $107.66. 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 $79.31 and a 12-month high of $115.50.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Aflac in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Aflac has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.36.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now owns 49,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,360,422.98. This trade represents a 37.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total value of $107,630.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,733,048.59. The trade was a 3.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.