Advisors Asset Management Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 5.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 84,444 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,890 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $8,735,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Aflac during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Raelipskie Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total transaction of $107,630.00. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total value of $2,558,529.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 55,546 shares of company stock valued at $5,863,616. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AFL shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.36.

Aflac Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $107.27 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.63 billion, a PE ratio of 11.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.65. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $79.31 and a 1 year high of $115.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.08.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Company 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.