Synovus Financial Corp Has $113.79 Million Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Synovus Financial Corp reduced its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,100,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 94,806 shares during the quarter. Aflac comprises 1.4% of Synovus Financial Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Synovus Financial Corp owned 0.20% of Aflac worth $113,792,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AFL. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL opened at $106.84 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $106.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.42. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $79.31 and a 52-week high of $115.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.31 billion, a PE ratio of 11.13, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total value of $107,630.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 25,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,733,048.59. This trade represents a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total value of $3,197,456.58. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,360,422.98. This trade represents a 37.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” 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 assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.93.

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.