GAMMA Investing LLC Makes New Investment in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 2,823 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $238,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AFL. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,558,000. abrdn plc lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 51.2% during the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 298,226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,604,000 after buying an additional 100,937 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 353.3% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 14,754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,217,000 after buying an additional 11,499 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position 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 buying an additional 348,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, G&S Capital LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 12,551 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Aflac

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

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE:AFL opened at $83.73 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $64.10 and a fifty-two week high of $86.26. The stock has a market cap of $48.18 billion, a PE ratio of 10.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $82.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.71.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by ($0.22). The business had revenue of $3.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 24.92% and a return on equity of 17.59%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.29 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AFL shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $61.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $82.15.

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.