Forefront Wealth Management Inc. Takes $202,000 Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Forefront Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of AFL. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Aflac by 75.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,533,000 after buying an additional 333,083 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $979,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in Aflac in the 4th quarter worth approximately $948,000. FMR LLC lifted its position in Aflac by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,202,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $134,395,000 after buying an additional 45,745 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Willis Investment Counsel lifted its position in Aflac by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 273,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,287,000 after buying an additional 3,357 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL opened at $108.10 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 52-week low of $79.31 and a 52-week high of $115.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.08 billion, a PE ratio of 11.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $105.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.64.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AFL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Aflac in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report 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 given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 49,962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,360,422.98. This 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 can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total value of $2,558,529.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 55,546 shares of company stock valued at $5,863,616 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.