Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by LSV Asset Management

LSV Asset Management reduced its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 25.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,081,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 724,600 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management owned approximately 0.37% of Aflac worth $215,331,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AFL. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 49,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,360,422.98. This represents a 37.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total value of $107,630.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on AFL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.29.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $105.45 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $79.31 and a 1 year high of $115.50. The stock has a market cap of $57.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $106.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.48.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results 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 earnings per share 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.