American Century Companies Inc. Sells 781,722 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

American Century Companies Inc. lowered its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 77.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 230,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 781,722 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $23,894,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the third quarter worth $38,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on AFL. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.36.

Aflac Stock Performance

Aflac stock opened at $109.71 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $59.88 billion, a PE ratio of 11.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $79.31 and a 12-month high of $115.50. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $106.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.66.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. As a group, analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total transaction of $107,630.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 25,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,733,048.59. The trade was a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total transaction of $3,197,456.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 49,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,360,422.98. This trade represents a 37.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.