Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Acquired by Jones Financial Companies Lllp

Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 35.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 73,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 19,132 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in Aflac were worth $7,603,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the third quarter worth about $34,000. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership purchased a new position in Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Aflac by 41.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $110.00 on Tuesday. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $78.62 and a 1 year high of $115.50. The company has a market capitalization of $61.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.65. 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 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on AFL. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped 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. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Aflac in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.36.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of Aflac 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Aflac 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.