Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Bought by Korea Investment CORP

Korea Investment CORP grew its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 348,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,168 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned approximately 0.06% of Aflac worth $36,018,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at $163,409,000. Amundi raised its position in Aflac by 81.1% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,753,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $285,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,232,683 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,340,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,310,640,000 after purchasing an additional 653,275 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 670.9% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 556,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,572,000 after buying an additional 484,378 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the third quarter valued at about $42,290,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $109.71 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $59.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $79.31 and a 12-month high of $115.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $106.49 and its 200-day moving average is $107.66.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released 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 net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In related 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 transaction of $107,630.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,733,048.59. The trade was a 3.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,962 shares in the company, valued at $5,360,422.98. This trade represents a 37.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.36.

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.