Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 126,260 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $13,060,000. Aflac makes up about 6.3% of Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,694,511 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $524,846,000 after buying an additional 281,148 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Aflac by 1.5% in the fourth 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 period. Amundi grew its holdings 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 valued at $285,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,232,683 shares during the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD raised its position in shares of Aflac by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 2,395,045 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $247,682,000 after purchasing an additional 118,720 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,616,772 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $167,239,000 after purchasing an additional 32,220 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

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Aflac Price Performance

Aflac stock traded up $0.43 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $110.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,804,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,992,585. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $79.31 and a twelve month high of $115.50. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $106.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total transaction of $3,197,456.58. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,360,422.98. This trade represents a 37.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total transaction of $2,558,529.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 55,546 shares of company stock worth $5,863,616. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $103.36.

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.