Jones Financial Companies Lllp Boosts Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 35.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 73,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,132 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in Aflac were worth $7,603,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 351.0% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 460 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. boosted its position in Aflac by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 42,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,352,000 after buying an additional 3,370 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 2,395 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth $83,000. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at $259,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE AFL opened at $110.00 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $104.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.08. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $78.62 and a 1 year high of $115.50. The company has a market capitalization of $61.11 billion, a PE ratio of 11.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.99.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. As a group, analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total transaction of $2,558,529.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on AFL shares. StockNews.com raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. 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 target for the company. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.