NewEdge Wealth LLC Decreases Holdings in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

NewEdge Wealth LLC decreased its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 62.8% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,493 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $486,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Aflac during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Evergreen Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Navalign LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $129.58 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $65.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $119.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $114.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $96.95 and a 12 month high of $129.62.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.06 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AFL shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Aflac from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Aflac from $108.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $124.00 price target (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Aflac from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $116.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total value of $7,441,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 51,169,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,044,133,662.20. This trade represents a 0.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 744,916 shares of company stock worth $87,118,632. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Aflac 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.