Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Cuts Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lessened its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 7.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 29,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,375 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Aflac were worth $3,082,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in Aflac by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 7,643 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $791,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC grew its stake in Aflac by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 6,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $662,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Aflac by 23.2% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. TKG Advisors LLC grew its stake in Aflac by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. TKG Advisors LLC now owns 21,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,230,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Aflac by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $720,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Up 0.2 %

Aflac stock opened at $108.66 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $79.31 and a 52 week high of $115.50. The company has a market capitalization of $59.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $105.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays dropped their price target on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Aflac in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the business’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 value of $3,197,456.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,360,422.98. The trade was a 37.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total value of $2,558,529.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 55,546 shares of company stock valued at $5,863,616. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.