Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Holdings Trimmed by Trek Financial LLC

Trek Financial LLC lowered its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,009 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 372 shares during the period. Trek Financial LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $3,414,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Aflac in the 4th quarter worth about $349,699,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth approximately $163,409,000. Amundi grew its position in Aflac by 81.1% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,753,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $285,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,232,683 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Aflac by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,340,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,310,640,000 after buying an additional 653,275 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Aflac by 670.9% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 556,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,572,000 after buying an additional 484,378 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Down 8.8 %

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $101.94 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $55.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.62, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $79.31 and a 1 year high of $115.50. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $106.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total value of $107,630.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,733,048.59. This represents a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 49,962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,360,422.98. The trade was a 37.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AFL shares. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.29.

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.