Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Stake Raised by Zacks Investment Management

Zacks Investment Management raised its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,446 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 631 shares during the quarter. Zacks Investment Management’s holdings in Aflac were worth $2,012,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Aflac by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,391,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $155,529,000 after buying an additional 127,911 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 29.3% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,490 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 564 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 4.4% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 20,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,279,000 after acquiring an additional 852 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the third quarter worth $594,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in Aflac by 5.5% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 158,424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,712,000 after purchasing an additional 8,274 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL opened at $107.35 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $106.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $80.59 and a 12-month high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced 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 return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AFL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Aflac from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Aflac has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.93.

Insider Activity

In other Aflac news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total value of $3,197,456.58. Following the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,733,048.59. The trade was a 3.79 % 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 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.