Proficio Capital Partners LLC Buys Shares of 191,916 Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 191,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $192,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Aflac by 670.9% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 556,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,572,000 after buying an additional 484,378 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the third quarter valued at about $42,290,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 333,083 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Aflac by 6.4% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,694,511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $524,846,000 after purchasing an additional 281,148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Aflac by 872.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 187,997 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,446,000 after purchasing an additional 168,661 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Aflac in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.36.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business’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 $2,733,048.59. The trade was a 3.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the firm’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 owns 49,962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,360,422.98. This trade represents a 37.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $110.87 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $106.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.66. The company has a market capitalization of $60.60 billion, a PE ratio of 11.55, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.08.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. Equities 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.