Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Bought by Ranch Capital Advisors Inc.

Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 35,929 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 154 shares during the quarter. Aflac comprises about 1.8% of Ranch Capital Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $3,716,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac during the third quarter worth about $34,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership purchased a new stake in Aflac during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AFL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Aflac Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of AFL stock opened at $108.48 on Monday. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $79.31 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50. The stock has a market cap of $59.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.73. 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 (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.