Regal Investment Advisors LLC Boosts Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Regal Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 97,214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the quarter. Aflac makes up about 0.8% of Regal Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Regal Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $10,056,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Aflac by 75.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,533,000 after buying an additional 333,083 shares during the period. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at $948,000. Willis Investment Counsel raised its position in Aflac by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 273,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,287,000 after purchasing an additional 3,357 shares during the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at $1,014,000. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its stake in Aflac by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 108,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,213,000 after purchasing an additional 5,731 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on AFL shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays dropped their price target on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Aflac from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.93.

Aflac Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $108.52 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $106.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.39. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $79.69 and a 12-month high of $115.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $59.23 billion, a PE ratio of 11.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released 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 net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.