Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 52.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 67,285 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 73,873 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $5,551,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth $175,416,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 62.4% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,936,608 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $317,865,000 after buying an additional 1,897,212 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 22.9% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,812,956 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $634,004,000 after acquiring an additional 1,640,984 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at about $72,249,000. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 67.3% in the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,712,568 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $119,539,000 after acquiring an additional 689,173 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL traded up $2.25 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $83.23. 6,325,052 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,295,166. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $64.10 and a one year high of $86.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $3.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.29 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.41 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total value of $239,190.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $445,850.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total value of $239,190.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,592 shares in the company, valued at $445,850.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 30,493 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.91, for a total value of $2,436,695.63. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 86,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,879,451.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 46,493 shares of company stock worth $3,765,706. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Evercore ISI downgraded Aflac from an "in-line" rating to an "underperform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $76.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Aflac from $61.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Three 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $82.15.

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.