Prudential Financial Inc. Cuts Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Prudential Financial Inc. decreased its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 18.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 303,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 66,937 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $31,397,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $163,409,000. Amundi boosted its holdings in Aflac by 81.1% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,753,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $285,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,232,683 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,340,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,310,640,000 after buying an additional 653,275 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in Aflac by 471.4% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 600,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $67,080,000 after acquiring an additional 495,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 670.9% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 556,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,572,000 after purchasing an additional 484,378 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Aflac stock opened at $109.56 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $59.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $79.31 and a one year high of $115.50. The business has a fifty day moving average of $106.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.10.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data 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, analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays decreased their target price on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were 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 approximately $2,733,048.59. This represents a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 55,546 shares of company stock worth $5,863,616 in the last quarter. Company 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.