Moment Partners LLC Invests $611,000 in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Moment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,905 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $611,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its holdings in Aflac by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 53,816 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,567,000 after buying an additional 6,167 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 861,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,906,000 after acquiring an additional 34,067 shares during the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP lifted its stake in Aflac by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 348,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,018,000 after purchasing an additional 15,168 shares during the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. boosted its holdings in Aflac by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 6,789 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $702,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares during the period. Finally, Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. grew its position in shares of Aflac by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 29,852 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,088,000 after buying an additional 1,820 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $110.41 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $106.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.64. The company has a market cap of $60.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $79.31 and a 12-month 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. Equities analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total value of $3,197,456.58. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,360,422.98. This represents a 37.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 55,546 shares of company stock valued at $5,863,616. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.36.

About Aflac

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.