Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund cut its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 25.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 155,722 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 53,735 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Aflac were worth $12,847,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 471.4% during the third quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.62, for a total value of $423,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,516,390.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Albert Riggieri sold 8,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.34, for a total transaction of $666,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 32,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,735,635.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 5,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.62, for a total value of $423,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,516,390.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 46,493 shares of company stock valued at $3,765,706. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Aflac from $61.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Aflac from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Aflac from $83.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $82.15.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $83.75. 593,488 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,266,339. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.06 and a quick ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.19 billion, a PE ratio of 10.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.91. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $82.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.64. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $64.10 and a 52-week high of $86.26.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by ($0.22). Aflac had a net margin of 24.92% and a return on equity of 17.59%. The firm had revenue of $3.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.29 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.41 earnings per share for the current 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.