Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Cuts Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lowered its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 110,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,977 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Aflac were worth $11,378,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $203,000. Covestor Ltd grew its stake 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 buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Aflac by 2.1% during 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 during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Aflac by 1.9% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Aflac by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the director now directly owns 25,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,733,048.59. This trade represents a 3.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 55,546 shares of company stock valued at $5,863,616. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $107.44 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $79.31 and a one year high of $115.50. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $105.37 and its 200 day moving average is $107.69. The stock has a market cap of $58.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. 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 announced 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on AFL shares. StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. 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. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Aflac in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.36.

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.