Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Position Increased by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 67,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $6,960,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Aflac by 10.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,391,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $155,529,000 after buying an additional 127,911 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its stake 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 worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 564 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 20,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,279,000 after purchasing an additional 852 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at $594,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its holdings 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 worth $17,712,000 after purchasing an additional 8,274 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,360,422.98. This represents a 37.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total value of $107,630.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 25,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,733,048.59. This represents a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AFL shares. UBS Group raised their target price on Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Aflac in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Aflac from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.93.

Aflac Trading Up 2.1 %

Aflac stock opened at $106.84 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $106.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $107.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $79.31 and a 12 month high of $115.50. The stock has a market cap of $58.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81.

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 net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS 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.