Ritholtz Wealth Management Has $1.65 Million Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 24.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,894 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,650,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Studio Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 471.4% in the 3rd quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the period. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total value of $239,190.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,592 shares in the company, valued at $445,850.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total value of $239,190.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,592 shares in the company, valued at $445,850.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.62, for a total value of $423,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,516,390.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 46,493 shares of company stock worth $3,765,706. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $85.86 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.77. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $63.08 and a 1-year high of $86.26. The firm has a market cap of $49.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.22). Aflac had a net margin of 24.92% and a return on equity of 17.59%. The firm had revenue of $3.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.29 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Aflac from $61.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Evercore ISI downgraded Aflac from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $76.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. UBS Group upped their price target on Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Aflac from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.36.

Aflac Profile

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.