Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Takes Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired 92,100 Aflac shares in the first quarter, valued at approximately $10.1 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 67.44% of Aflac.
• Analysts have raised several price targets, but sentiment remains mixed: Aflac has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average target price of $116.17.
• Aflac shares opened at $127.53, near their 52-week high of $130.22. Insiders have sold approximately 744,916 shares worth $87.1 million over the past 90 days.

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 92,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $10,069,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stephens Inc. AR increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 21,945 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,420,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. raised its position in shares of Aflac by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 13,743 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,508,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in Aflac by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,119 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $234,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its holdings in Aflac by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 19,088 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,105,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Aflac by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,702 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $902,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $130.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Aflac from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $124.00 target price (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $116.17.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $127.53 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $64.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.48, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.60. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $96.95 and a twelve month high of $130.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $119.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $114.84.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 27,845 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.71, for a total value of $3,249,789.95. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 50,898,490 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,940,362,767.90. The trade was a 0.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 12,370 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.54, for a total transaction of $1,441,599.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 33,310 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,881,947.40. The trade was a 27.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 744,916 shares of company stock worth $87,118,632. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Aflac Company Profile

Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is a provider of supplemental insurance products designed to help policyholders manage out-of-pocket health care and living expenses. The company underwrites a range of individual and group policies that typically pay cash benefits directly to insureds when covered events occur, enabling greater financial flexibility for medical treatment, hospital stays, critical illness, and related costs. Aflac's product mix includes supplemental health insurance, life insurance and other specialty coverages intended to complement primary medical plans.

Founded in the mid-20th century and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac distributes its products through a combination of employer-sponsored programs, independent brokers and agents, and direct marketing.

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