SouthState Corp Sells 7,587 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

SouthState Corp trimmed its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 55.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,977 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,587 shares during the quarter. SouthState Corp’s holdings in Aflac were worth $618,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at $203,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 15.5% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,585 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,867,000 after acquiring an additional 4,654 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 7.3% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 300,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,610,000 after acquiring an additional 20,402 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the third quarter worth about $216,000. Finally, Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.0% in the third quarter. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. now owns 157,948 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,659,000 after purchasing an additional 1,528 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $108.47 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $105.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The company has a market capitalization of $59.29 billion, a PE ratio of 11.30, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $79.31 and a 1-year high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,393 shares in the company, valued at $2,733,048.59. The trade was a 3.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total value of $2,558,529.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 55,546 shares of company stock worth $5,863,616 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AFL shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.36.

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.