Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. Raises Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. raised its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,172 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 665 shares during the quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,747,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Aflac from $83.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $61.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, SVP Albert Riggieri sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.34, for a total transaction of $666,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 32,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,735,635.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Albert Riggieri sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.34, for a total transaction of $666,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 32,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,735,635.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 5,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $445,850.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 46,493 shares of company stock worth $3,765,706 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Down 1.1 %

AFL stock opened at $83.64 on Wednesday. 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 twelve month low of $64.10 and a twelve month high of $86.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $82.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $81.84.

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

Aflac Company 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.