Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 21.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 608,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 168,121 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $62,893,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 653,275 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $349,699,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Aflac by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,226,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $333,768,000 after buying an additional 47,119 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 81.1% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,753,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $285,181,000 after acquiring an additional 1,232,683 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guinness Asset Management LTD raised its position in shares of Aflac by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 2,395,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $247,682,000 after purchasing an additional 118,720 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Down 0.6 %

AFL opened at $111.63 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $60.93 billion, a PE ratio of 11.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $107.01 and a 200-day moving average of $107.77.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total value of $107,630.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,733,048.59. This trade represents a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 stock was sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total value of $3,197,456.58. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 49,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,360,422.98. The trade was a 37.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Aflac in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.29.

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.