AGP Franklin LLC Acquires 6,856 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Key Points

• AGP Franklin LLC increased its stake in Aflac by 71.5%, acquiring an additional 6,856 shares, bringing its total holdings to 16,448 shares valued at approximately $1.777 million.
• Insiders have sold 40,750 shares of Aflac stock, amounting to $4.3 million in sales, with a notable decrease in ownership percentages by directors.
• Wall Street analysts have raised Aflac's price targets, with Piper Sandler setting a new target of $124.00, while the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold."

AGP Franklin LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 71.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,448 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,856 shares during the period. AGP Franklin LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $1,777,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Aflac by 121.9% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 304 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Aflac in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Aflac in the first quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Aflac in the first quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $108.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 2,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.70, for a total value of $290,675.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $711,149.60. This trade represents a 29.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 37,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.59, for a total transaction of $3,906,830.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 70,992 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,496,045.28. This represents a 34.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 40,750 shares of company stock worth $4,304,295 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Aflac stock traded up $1.17 on Thursday, hitting $99.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,043,038 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,115,138. The firm has a market cap of $53.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $102.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.11. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $94.87 and a one year high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.53 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 15.55%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 37.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 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.