Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd trimmed its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 80.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,452 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 10,350 shares during the quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd's holdings in Aflac were worth $254,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AFL. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at $349,699,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at about $163,409,000. Amundi increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,232,683 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Aflac by 1.3% during the fourth 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. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Aflac by 670.9% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 556,576 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $57,572,000 after purchasing an additional 484,378 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Price Performance

NYSE:AFL traded up $2.16 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $106.84. 2,297,504 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,146,689. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The firm's 50-day moving average is $106.34 and its 200-day moving average is $107.41. The stock has a market cap of $58.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $79.69 and a 1-year high of $115.50.

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

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total transaction of $107,630.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,393 shares in the company, valued at $2,733,048.59. This trade represents a 3.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of Aflac 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 approximately $5,360,422.98. This represents a 37.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AFL shares. Barclays cut their target price on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $103.93.

Aflac 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.