Parallel Advisors LLC Acquires 719 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 8.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 719 shares during the quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $953,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership bought a new position in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,733,048.59. This trade represents a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 49,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,360,422.98. This represents a 37.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 55,546 shares of company stock valued at $5,863,616. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $108.49 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.30, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. 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 50 day moving average price of $105.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.65. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $79.31 and a 52 week high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. Sell-side analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.