Great Diamond Partners LLC Sells 3,394 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Great Diamond Partners LLC cut its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 12.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,394 shares during the period. Great Diamond Partners LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $2,758,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AFL. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Aflac by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 14,265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,600,000 after purchasing an additional 777 shares during the last quarter. Sicart Associates LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth $235,000. Argyle Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $237,000. Trail Ridge Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth $240,000. Finally, Orrstown Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth about $268,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Barclays initiated coverage on Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $97.53.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL stock opened at $110.00 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.10. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $75.07 and a one year high of $115.50. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $110.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.50 billion, a PE ratio of 12.14, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.95.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $5.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 28.35% and a return on equity of 16.22%. Aflac’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.58 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In related news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total value of $197,880.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,796,552.52. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.