Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Purchases 3,981 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 337,932 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 3,981 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. owned 0.06% of Aflac worth $34,956,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of Aflac 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 25,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,733,048.59. The trade was a 3.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total transaction of $2,558,529.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 55,546 shares of company stock valued at $5,863,616 in the last three months. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AFL. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $111.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $103.36.

Aflac Price Performance

Aflac stock traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $109.56. 1,675,601 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,994,051. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $79.31 and a 1-year high of $115.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business has a fifty day moving average of $106.09 and a 200 day moving average of $107.61. The company has a market capitalization of $59.88 billion, a PE ratio of 11.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93.

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

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.