SageView Advisory Group LLC Boosts Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

SageView Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,058 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 171 shares during the period. SageView Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $213,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at about $349,699,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $163,409,000. Amundi boosted its holdings in Aflac by 81.1% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,753,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $285,181,000 after buying an additional 1,232,683 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Aflac by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,340,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,310,640,000 after buying an additional 653,275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 670.9% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 556,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,572,000 after acquiring an additional 484,378 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE AFL opened at $107.43 on Thursday. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $79.93 and a twelve month high of $115.50. The stock has a market cap of $58.64 billion, a PE ratio of 11.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $106.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now owns 25,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,733,048.59. This trade represents a 3.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the company’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 transaction of $3,197,456.58. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 49,962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,360,422.98. The trade was a 37.36 % 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 Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Aflac in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Aflac from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.