Andra AP fonden Sells 8,100 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Andra AP fonden reduced its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 78,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,100 shares during the quarter. Andra AP fonden’s holdings in Aflac were worth $8,141,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors raised its stake in Aflac by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 7,122 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $737,000 after purchasing an additional 966 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $613,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth about $1,795,000. Candriam S.C.A. raised its position in shares of Aflac by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 42,984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,446,000 after buying an additional 6,495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $287,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total value of $2,558,529.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,018,701.20. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL stock opened at $108.48 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $59.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $105.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $107.72. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $79.31 and a one year high of $115.50. 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 (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AFL shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays lowered 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. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.