Legal & General Group Plc Decreases Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 19.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,218,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,027,141 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.76% of Aflac worth $436,340,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AFL. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Aflac by 75.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,533,000 after purchasing an additional 333,083 shares during the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $948,000. Willis Investment Counsel boosted its position in Aflac by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 273,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,287,000 after buying an additional 3,357 shares during the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,014,000. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its position in Aflac by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 108,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,213,000 after buying an additional 5,731 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total transaction of $107,630.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 25,393 shares in the company, valued at $2,733,048.59. This represents a 3.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $3,197,456.58. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 49,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,360,422.98. This trade represents a 37.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL opened at $99.93 on Tuesday. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $79.31 and a 1-year high of $115.50. The stock has a market cap of $54.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $106.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.63. 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 quarterly 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on AFL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Aflac in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 target price for the company. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.29.

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.