SlateStone Wealth LLC Acquires 400 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

SlateStone Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. SlateStone Wealth LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,835,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total transaction of $2,558,529.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total transaction of $107,630.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 55,546 shares of company stock worth $5,863,616 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on AFL. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.36.

Aflac Trading Up 2.2 %

AFL opened at $107.44 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $79.31 and a 12 month high of $115.50. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $105.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.69. 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 issued its quarterly 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Company Profile

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.