Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Stock Holdings Lifted by Richwood Investment Advisors LLC

Richwood Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 8.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,711 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 575 shares during the period. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $798,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Guardian Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,778,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,791,000. Forefront Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in Aflac by 45.0% during the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 47,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,902,000 after purchasing an additional 14,703 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ZEGA Investments LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,714,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Price Performance

NYSE AFL opened at $108.10 on Friday. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $105.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $107.63. The company has a market cap of $59.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $79.31 and a 1 year high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total value of $3,197,456.58. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,360,422.98. This represents a 37.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 55,546 shares of company stock valued at $5,863,616. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on AFL. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.36.

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.