abrdn plc Acquires 100,937 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

abrdn plc boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 51.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 298,226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 100,937 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc’s holdings in Aflac were worth $24,604,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 471.4% in the 3rd quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of AFL opened at $83.75 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $82.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.06 and a current ratio of 0.06. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $64.10 and a 52-week high of $86.26. The company has a market cap of $48.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.81, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.91.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.22). Aflac had a net margin of 24.92% and a return on equity of 17.59%. The business had revenue of $3.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.29 EPS. Analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 5,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.62, for a total value of $423,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,516,390.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 5,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.62, for a total value of $423,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,516,390.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 30,493 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.91, for a total value of $2,436,695.63. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 86,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,879,451.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 46,493 shares of company stock valued at $3,765,706. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Aflac from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. StockNews.com downgraded Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Aflac from $61.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $82.15.

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.