Guggenheim Capital LLC Grows Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 86,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,842 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $8,942,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total value of $107,630.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,733,048.59. This represents a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total transaction of $3,197,456.58. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,360,422.98. This trade represents a 37.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Aflac Trading Down 0.6 %

Aflac stock opened at $107.43 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $106.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.40. The company has a market capitalization of $58.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $79.93 and a 52 week high of $115.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Aflac from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.93.

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.