Treasurer of the State of North Carolina Increases Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 253,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,710 shares during the quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina's holdings in Aflac were worth $26,228,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Aflac by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,340,298 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,310,640,000 after purchasing an additional 653,275 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Aflac by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,465,433 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,286,042,000 after buying an additional 288,482 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $349,699,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Aflac by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,226,681 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $333,768,000 after acquiring an additional 47,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in Aflac by 81.1% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,753,513 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $285,181,000 after buying an additional 1,232,683 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:AFL traded up $0.70 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $108.73. 894,802 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,001,806. The company has a market cap of $59.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $79.93 and a one year high of $115.50. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $106.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total value of $3,197,456.58. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,962 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,360,422.98. The trade was a 37.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total value of $107,630.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 25,393 shares in the company, valued at $2,733,048.59. The trade was a 3.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on AFL. UBS Group raised their price objective on Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. StockNews.com raised Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $103.93.

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.