Geode Capital Management LLC Acquires 288,482 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,465,433 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 288,482 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.24% of Aflac worth $1,286,042,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL stock traded down $9.81 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $101.94. 3,221,784 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,138,854. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $79.31 and a 52 week high of $115.50. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $106.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.70. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $55.64 billion, a PE ratio of 10.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81.

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Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the company'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 sale, the director now owns 25,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,733,048.59. The trade was a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total value of $3,197,456.58. Following the transaction, the director now owns 49,962 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,360,422.98. This trade represents a 37.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on AFL shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Aflac in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $111.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Two equities 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 currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $104.29.

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.