Independent Advisor Alliance Raises Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 6.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,435 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Aflac were worth $4,327,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership purchased a new position in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $106.35 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.13 billion, a PE ratio of 11.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $105.21 and a 200-day moving average of $107.73. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $79.31 and a 52-week high of $115.50.

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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AFL. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.36.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,018,701.20. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total value of $3,197,456.58. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,360,422.98. The trade was a 37.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 55,546 shares of company stock worth $5,863,616. 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.