Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Acquired by DnB Asset Management AS

DnB Asset Management AS raised its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 104,772 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 531 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Aflac were worth $10,838,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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 sale, the director now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 49,962 shares of the company’s stock, 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.36.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL opened at $109.71 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business’s 50 day moving average is $106.49 and its 200-day moving average is $107.66. The stock has a market cap of $59.88 billion, a PE ratio of 11.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $79.31 and a twelve 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 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%. On average, analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current 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.