SouthState Corp Reduces Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

SouthState Corp cut its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 55.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,977 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,587 shares during the period. SouthState Corp's holdings in Aflac were worth $618,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the third quarter worth $203,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Aflac by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,585 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,867,000 after buying an additional 4,654 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 300,630 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,610,000 after acquiring an additional 20,402 shares in the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at about $216,000. Finally, Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. boosted its stake in Aflac by 1.0% during the third quarter. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. now owns 157,948 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $17,659,000 after acquiring an additional 1,528 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were 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 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 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 ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AFL shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $103.36.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL stock traded down $0.61 during trading on Friday, reaching $108.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,333,576 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,944,999. The company's fifty day moving average is $105.81 and its 200-day moving average is $107.66. The company has a market capitalization of $59.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. 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.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.