Hirtle Callaghan & Co LLC Makes New Investment in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Hirtle Callaghan & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,669 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $276,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AFL. Piper Sandler cut 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. Barclays cut 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. StockNews.com raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.36.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL opened at $108.10 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $105.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.61. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $79.31 and a 1 year high of $115.50. The company has a market capitalization of $59.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. 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 (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results 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%. Equities analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the business’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 transaction, the director now owns 49,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,360,422.98. The trade was a 37.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total value of $107,630.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,733,048.59. This trade represents a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 55,546 shares of company stock valued at $5,863,616. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.