Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. Takes Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. bought a new position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 26,494 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,106,000.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 12,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.54, for a total transaction of $1,441,599.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 33,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,881,947.40. The trade was a 27.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 27,845 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.71, for a total transaction of $3,249,789.95. Following the transaction, the insider owned 50,898,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,940,362,767.90. This represents a 0.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 744,673 shares of company stock worth $87,090,808 over the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on AFL. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Aflac from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $130.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 target price (up from $101.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Aflac from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $116.17.

Aflac Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $125.32 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $119.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $115.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.22, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.60. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $97.47 and a twelve month high of $130.22.

About Aflac

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.