Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Acquired by Choate Investment Advisors

Choate Investment Advisors increased its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 454 shares during the period. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in Aflac were worth $3,773,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Aflac in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.36.

Aflac Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $107.44 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $105.37 and a 200-day moving average of $107.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The company has a market capitalization of $58.72 billion, a PE ratio of 11.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $79.31 and a 1-year high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 EPS 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total value of $107,630.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,733,048.59. This trade represents a 3.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,962 shares in the company, valued at $5,360,422.98. This represents a 37.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 55,546 shares of company stock worth $5,863,616. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.