Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by Smith Moore & CO.

Smith Moore & CO. lowered its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,309 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 234 shares during the quarter. Smith Moore & CO.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $653,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Aflac by 75.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,533,000 after purchasing an additional 333,083 shares during the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $948,000. Willis Investment Counsel raised its stake in Aflac by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 273,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,287,000 after acquiring an additional 3,357 shares during the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,014,000. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 108,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,213,000 after purchasing an additional 5,731 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.29.

Aflac Price Performance

Aflac stock opened at $101.94 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $106.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.70. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $79.31 and a 52 week high of $115.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.64 billion, a PE ratio of 10.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.