Renasant Bank Increases Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Renasant Bank boosted its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 24.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 517 shares during the quarter. Renasant Bank’s holdings in Aflac were worth $268,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth $203,000. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 41.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 5,425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $607,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,817 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $650,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 79.7% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 27,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,058,000 after purchasing an additional 12,131 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL stock opened at $104.95 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.93, a PEG 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 company’s 50-day simple moving average is $105.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.69. 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 earnings results 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AFL. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Aflac in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Two investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total transaction of $2,558,529.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 55,546 shares of company stock worth $5,863,616 over the last ninety days. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.