Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by State of Michigan Retirement System

State of Michigan Retirement System cut its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 144,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,400 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Aflac were worth $14,906,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the third quarter valued at $203,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Aflac by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 97,494 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,933,000 after buying an additional 9,667 shares during the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at about $74,000. National Pension Service grew its holdings in Aflac by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,662,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $185,869,000 after buying an additional 136,238 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $107.56 on Wednesday. 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 $79.22 and a 1-year high of $115.50. The company has a market capitalization of $58.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.20, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a 50-day moving average of $104.79 and a 200-day moving average of $107.67.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other Aflac 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 transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AFL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays reduced their target price on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target 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 assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.36.

Aflac 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.