Dean Investment Associates LLC Sells 5,328 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Dean Investment Associates LLC lessened its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 38.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,401 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,328 shares during the period. Dean Investment Associates LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $869,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at $349,699,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at $163,409,000. Amundi grew its position in shares of Aflac by 81.1% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,753,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $285,181,000 after acquiring an additional 1,232,683 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 653,275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 670.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 556,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,572,000 after purchasing an additional 484,378 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,962 shares in the company, valued at $5,360,422.98. This represents a 37.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 $2,733,048.59. This trade represents a 3.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Up 0.0 %

NYSE AFL opened at $107.35 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $58.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.18, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $80.11 and a 1-year 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $106.64 and a 200-day moving average of $107.37.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced 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, equities research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AFL shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.