US Bancorp DE Sells 5,074 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Key Points

• US Bancorp DE reduced its stake in Aflac Incorporated by 2.5%, selling 5,074 shares during the first quarter, which left them with 197,909 shares valued at approximately $22 million.
• Multiple investors increased their holdings in Aflac, with Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raising its position by 24.4% in the first quarter, demonstrating ongoing interest in the company's stock despite fluctuations.
• Analyst ratings for Aflac show mixed opinions, with target prices ranging from $98.00 to $110.00, and the stock currently holds a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average target price of $108.15.

US Bancorp DE decreased its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 197,909 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,074 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE's holdings in Aflac were worth $22,006,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NorthRock Partners LLC lifted its position in Aflac by 1.5% during the first quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 6,519 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $725,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Aflac by 24.4% during the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 495 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC lifted its position in Aflac by 1.5% during the first quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 6,653 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $711,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Optas LLC increased its stake in Aflac by 3.5% during the first quarter. Optas LLC now owns 2,949 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $328,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Titleist Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Aflac by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC now owns 3,324 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $344,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on AFL. Barclays set a $98.00 target price on Aflac and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Raymond James Financial cut their target price on Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $108.15.

Aflac Trading Down 1.3%

AFL opened at $98.10 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $95.97 and a 12 month high of $115.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.33, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.09 and a quick ratio of 0.09. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $102.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $105.06.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 2,750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.70, for a total transaction of $290,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,728 shares of the company's stock, valued at $711,149.60. The trade was a 29.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 37,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.59, for a total value of $3,906,830.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 70,992 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,496,045.28. The trade was a 34.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 40,750 shares of company stock valued at $4,304,295 in the last three months. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Aflac

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.

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