Verity & Verity LLC Decreases Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Verity & Verity LLC lessened its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL – Get Rating) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 118,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,168 shares during the quarter. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $8,541,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MinichMacGregor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, Horizons Wealth Management bought a new position in Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.22% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $61.29 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.06 and a quick ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.94. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $52.07 and a 1-year high of $74.01. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $69.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.77.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $4.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.49 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.69% and a net margin of 21.54%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.28 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 5.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.98, for a total transaction of $35,990.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 19,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,421,676.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.98, for a total value of $35,990.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 19,751 shares in the company, valued at $1,421,676.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 19,291 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.36, for a total value of $1,357,314.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 87,598 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,163,395.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AFL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Aflac in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Raymond James upped their price objective on Aflac from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 30th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Aflac from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Aflac from $78.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Aflac from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $71.75.

About Aflac

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Aflac, Inc is a holding company. engages in the provision of financial protection services. It operates through the followings segments: Aflac Japan and Aflac United States (U.S.). The Aflac Japan segment offers life insurance, death benefits, and cash surrender values. The Aflac U.S. segment sells voluntary supplemental insurance products for people who already have major medical or primary insurance coverage.