2,777 Shares in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Bought by Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 2,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $287,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership purchased a new position in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Aflac by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Aflac in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL stock opened at $108.48 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $59.29 billion, a PE ratio of 11.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $105.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $79.31 and a 52-week high of $115.50.

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

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.