iA Global Asset Management Inc. Lowers Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 15,471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 371 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,600,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 75.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,533,000 after purchasing an additional 333,083 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the third quarter worth about $979,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth about $948,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 4.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,202,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $134,395,000 after purchasing an additional 45,745 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Willis Investment Counsel increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 273,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,287,000 after purchasing an additional 3,357 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Aflac in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 target price on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.36.

Aflac Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $108.10 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $79.31 and a 1 year high of $115.50. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.08 billion, a PE ratio of 11.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.08.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total value of $2,558,529.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business’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 value of $107,630.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 55,546 shares of company stock worth $5,863,616. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.