Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC cut its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 66,474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,902 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $6,876,000 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 the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE:AFL opened at $109.71 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $106.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.66. 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 firm has a market cap of $59.88 billion, a PE ratio of 11.43, 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 data 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 net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. On average, equities analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 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 approximately $2,733,048.59. The trade was a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total value of $3,197,456.58. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 49,962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,360,422.98. The trade was a 37.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AFL shares. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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 target price on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.36.

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.