Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 70,617 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 114 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $7,305,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 10.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,391,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $155,529,000 after purchasing an additional 127,911 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its position in Aflac by 29.3% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,490 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 564 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its position in Aflac by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 20,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,279,000 after buying an additional 852 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $594,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 158,424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,712,000 after acquiring an additional 8,274 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AFL. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Aflac in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two investment 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 data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.93.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $107.96 on Friday. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $107.14 and a 200 day moving average of $107.11. The firm has a market cap of $58.93 billion, a PE ratio of 11.25, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $80.59 and a one year high of $115.50.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 25,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,733,048.59. This trade represents a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total transaction 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.

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.