Duality Advisers LP Takes Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Duality Advisers LP bought a new stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $272,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at $1,558,000. abrdn plc lifted its holdings in Aflac by 51.2% in the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 298,226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,604,000 after purchasing an additional 100,937 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Aflac by 353.3% in the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 14,754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,217,000 after purchasing an additional 11,499 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 25.9% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,693,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $139,676,000 after acquiring an additional 348,400 shares during the period. Finally, G&S Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 65.1% during the 4th quarter. G&S Capital LLC now owns 31,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,626,000 after acquiring an additional 12,551 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $83.58 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.06 and a current ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.09 billion, a PE ratio of 10.78, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.91. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $64.10 and a 1 year high of $86.26.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.22). The business had revenue of $3.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 24.92%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.29 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.62, for a total transaction of $423,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,920 shares in the company, valued at $1,516,390.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Aflac news, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total value of $239,190.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,592 shares in the company, valued at $445,850.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.62, for a total value of $423,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,516,390.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 46,493 shares of company stock worth $3,765,706 over the last 90 days. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on AFL shares. Evercore ISI lowered Aflac from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $76.00 to $78.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Aflac from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Aflac from $83.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $82.15.

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.