NewEdge Wealth LLC Decreases Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

NewEdge Wealth LLC decreased its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 62.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,493 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $486,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Evergreen Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Navalign LLC bought a new stake in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on AFL. Evercore raised shares of Aflac from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $130.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Aflac from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $116.17.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $129.58 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $119.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $114.45. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $96.95 and a twelve month high of $129.62.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.66 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 27,845 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.71, for a total value of $3,249,789.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 50,898,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,940,362,767.90. The trade was a 0.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 12,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.54, for a total transaction of $1,441,599.80. Following the sale, the director owned 33,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,881,947.40. This trade represents a 27.08% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 744,916 shares of company stock worth $87,118,632 over the last ninety days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Aflac Company Profile

Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is a provider of supplemental insurance products designed to help policyholders manage out-of-pocket health care and living expenses. The company underwrites a range of individual and group policies that typically pay cash benefits directly to insureds when covered events occur, enabling greater financial flexibility for medical treatment, hospital stays, critical illness, and related costs. Aflac’s product mix includes supplemental health insurance, life insurance and other specialty coverages intended to complement primary medical plans.

Founded in the mid-20th century and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac distributes its products through a combination of employer-sponsored programs, independent brokers and agents, and direct marketing.