Dorsey Wright & Associates Buys 12,820 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Dorsey Wright & Associates increased its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 31.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 54,221 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,820 shares during the quarter. Aflac comprises about 1.3% of Dorsey Wright & Associates’ portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Dorsey Wright & Associates’ holdings in Aflac were worth $5,609,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Aflac by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,340,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,310,640,000 after acquiring an additional 653,275 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at $349,699,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Aflac by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,226,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $333,768,000 after purchasing an additional 47,119 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 81.1% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,753,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $285,181,000 after buying an additional 1,232,683 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guinness Asset Management LTD grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 2,395,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $247,682,000 after buying an additional 118,720 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 25,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,733,048.59. The trade was a 3.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total value of $3,197,456.58. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,360,422.98. This represents a 37.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $109.71 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business’s 50 day moving average is $106.49 and its 200 day moving average is $107.66. The stock has a market cap of $59.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $79.31 and a 52-week high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. Sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays dropped their price target on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.36.

About Aflac

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.