Korea Investment CORP Has $36.02 Million Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Korea Investment CORP grew its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 348,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,168 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Aflac were worth $36,018,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new position in Aflac in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total transaction of $3,197,456.58. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 49,962 shares in the company, valued at $5,360,422.98. This trade represents a 37.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total transaction of $107,630.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,733,048.59. The trade was a 3.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AFL. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.36.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $109.71 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $106.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.66. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $79.31 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50. The company has a market capitalization of $59.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

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.