Smith Moore & CO. Cuts Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Smith Moore & CO. cut its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 6,309 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 234 shares during the period. Smith Moore & CO.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $653,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth $3,212,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its position in Aflac by 238.4% during the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 70,731 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,220,000 after acquiring an additional 49,829 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Aflac by 150.2% during the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 14,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,593,000 after acquiring an additional 8,552 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 345,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,660,000 after purchasing an additional 62,929 shares during the period. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at about $225,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on AFL shares. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was 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 in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the 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 sale, 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. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Aflac Stock Down 8.8 %

AFL stock opened at $101.94 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $55.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.62, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $106.95 and a 200-day simple moving average 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.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.