State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 8,744 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D decreased its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 4.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 171,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,744 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Aflac were worth $19,142,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,731,482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $193,407,000 after purchasing an additional 163,791 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Aflac by 3.8% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,768,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $196,662,000 after buying an additional 65,308 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Aflac by 12.2% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 90,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,162,000 after buying an additional 9,878 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in Aflac by 12.0% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 97,344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,841,000 after buying an additional 10,423 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 31.0% during the third quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 55,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,146,000 after buying an additional 13,017 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Aflac stock opened at $114.82 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $60.18 billion, a PE ratio of 16.69, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $96.95 and a 1 year high of $119.32. The company’s 50-day moving average is $110.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.23.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.12). Aflac had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 21.24%.The business had revenue of $4.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.45 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on AFL. Morgan Stanley set a $120.00 price target on Aflac in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Evercore increased their target price on Aflac from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Aflac from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Barclays set a $101.00 price target on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Mizuho set a $107.00 price objective on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $110.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Steven Kent Beaver sold 5,492 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.53, for a total transaction of $601,538.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 38,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,202,447.04. The trade was a 12.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 15,862 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total value of $1,776,544.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 230,688 shares in the company, valued at $25,837,056. The trade was a 6.43% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 24,806 shares of company stock worth $2,755,248. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.