Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV

Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV cut its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 466 shares during the period. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,613,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership bought a new stake in Aflac in the third quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its position in Aflac by 41.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on AFL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Aflac in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.36.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Aflac Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:AFL opened at $108.20 on Thursday. 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 Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $79.31 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $104.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.67. The stock has a market cap of $59.14 billion, a PE ratio of 11.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, equities research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.