Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by LPL Financial LLC

LPL Financial LLC decreased its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 944,601 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 18,622 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $97,710,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in Aflac by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 7,643 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $791,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC raised its position in shares of Aflac by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 6,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $662,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Aflac by 23.2% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. TKG Advisors LLC grew its position in Aflac by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. TKG Advisors LLC now owns 21,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,230,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Aflac by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $720,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $109.56 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $59.88 billion, a PE ratio of 11.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.10. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $106.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $107.62. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $79.31 and a 1 year high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 25,393 shares in the company, valued at $2,733,048.59. This trade represents a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total transaction of $2,558,529.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 three months, insiders have sold 55,546 shares of company stock valued at $5,863,616. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AFL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Aflac presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.36.

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.