Cozad Asset Management Inc. Has $1.31 Million Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Cozad Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 12,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 748 shares during the period. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,314,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the third quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Aflac by 15.5% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,585 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,867,000 after purchasing an additional 4,654 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in Aflac by 7.3% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 300,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,610,000 after purchasing an additional 20,402 shares in the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the third quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Finally, Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. raised its position in Aflac by 1.0% during the third quarter. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. now owns 157,948 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,659,000 after purchasing an additional 1,528 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s 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 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 55,546 shares of company stock valued at $5,863,616. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on AFL shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.36.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $108.47 on Tuesday. 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 Incorporated has a twelve month low of $79.31 and a twelve month high of $115.50. The stock has a market cap of $59.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. The company’s fifty day moving average is $105.51 and its 200 day moving average is $107.67.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current 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.