Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Reduces Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 80.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,350 shares during the quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd’s holdings in Aflac were worth $254,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 7,643 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $791,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC grew its holdings in Aflac by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 6,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $662,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Aflac by 23.2% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. TKG Advisors LLC boosted its position in Aflac by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. TKG Advisors LLC now owns 21,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,230,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $720,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other news, 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 value 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. This represents a 37.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 value of $107,630.00. Following the sale, 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 insiders.

Aflac Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of AFL opened at $99.93 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $106.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.63. 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 company has a market capitalization of $54.54 billion, a PE ratio of 10.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $79.31 and a 52-week high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.29.

About Aflac

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.