Sentry Investment Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Sentry Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 9.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 304 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $234,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dakota Wealth Management boosted its stake in Aflac by 520.2% during the 4th quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 36,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,986,000 after purchasing an additional 30,359 shares during the last quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. boosted its stake in Aflac by 28.2% during the 4th quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. now owns 40,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,370,000 after purchasing an additional 8,985 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at $2,656,000. MV Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Aflac by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $346,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Simplicity Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 11,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $928,000 after buying an additional 764 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AFL shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Aflac from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Aflac from $83.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Aflac from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut Aflac from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $76.00 to $78.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $82.15.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $80.42 on Wednesday. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $64.10 and a one year high of $86.26. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $82.03 and its 200 day moving average is $81.47. The stock has a market cap of $46.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.06 and a current ratio of 0.06.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by ($0.22). The business had revenue of $3.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 24.92% and a return on equity of 17.59%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.29 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.62, for a total transaction of $423,100.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,516,390.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Aflac news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.62, for a total transaction of $423,100.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,516,390.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Albert Riggieri sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.34, for a total value of $666,720.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 32,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,735,635.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 46,493 shares of company stock valued at $3,765,706 over the last ninety days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.