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

Financial Counselors Inc. increased its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 10.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,789 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 642 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $702,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC increased its stake in Aflac by 4.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,202,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $134,395,000 after purchasing an additional 45,745 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at about $335,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 0.3% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 87,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,838,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Aflac by 6.4% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,694,511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $524,846,000 after purchasing an additional 281,148 shares during the period. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in Aflac during the third quarter worth approximately $930,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $109.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.10. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $79.31 and a 1 year high of $115.50. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $106.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.66. The firm has a market cap of $59.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.43, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,962 shares in the company, 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 this link. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the company’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 sale, the director now owns 25,393 shares in the company, valued at $2,733,048.59. The trade was a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AFL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.