VSM Wealth Advisory LLC Acquires New Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,272 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $132,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Claro Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the third quarter valued at $216,000. Caprock Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 20,844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,330,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. BIP Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth about $256,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,015,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 4.0% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 223,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,990,000 after buying an additional 8,613 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were 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 owns 49,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,360,422.98. This trade represents a 37.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at $23,018,701.20. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 three months. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays cut their price target on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.36.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL stock opened at $108.49 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.65. The company has a market capitalization of $59.30 billion, a PE ratio of 11.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $79.31 and a twelve month 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.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.