Virtus ETF Advisers LLC Has $1.08 Million Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Virtus ETF Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 12.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,477 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,139 shares during the quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,084,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Aflac by 75.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,533,000 after buying an additional 333,083 shares in the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $948,000. Willis Investment Counsel raised its position in Aflac by 1.2% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth $1,014,000. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 108,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,213,000 after purchasing an additional 5,731 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other 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 value of $107,630.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 25,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,733,048.59. This represents a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 49,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,360,422.98. This represents a 37.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AFL. Barclays dropped their price objective on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.93.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $107.96 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $58.93 billion, a PE ratio of 11.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $80.59 and a 52 week high of $115.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $107.14 and its 200-day moving average is $107.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.10.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 EPS 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 predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current 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.