Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by HM Payson & Co.

HM Payson & Co. reduced its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 178,444 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,869 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $18,458,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its holdings in Aflac by 56.2% in the 4th quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 393,717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,743,000 after acquiring an additional 141,580 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Aflac by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 241,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,986,000 after acquiring an additional 18,028 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its holdings in Aflac by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 559,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,143,000 after acquiring an additional 38,873 shares during the last quarter. Oak Hill Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Aflac by 198.5% in the 4th quarter. Oak Hill Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 22,516 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,329,000 after acquiring an additional 45,366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Novus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at $281,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $108.48 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $105.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $79.31 and a twelve month high of $115.50. The stock has a market cap of $59.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. 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 report on Wednesday, February 19th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Aflac in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.36.

Insider Buying and Selling 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. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.