Anchor Investment Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Anchor Investment Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 20,284 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $2,098,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 75.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,533,000 after purchasing an additional 333,083 shares during the period. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $948,000. Willis Investment Counsel grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 273,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,287,000 after acquiring an additional 3,357 shares in the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth $1,014,000. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 108,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,213,000 after acquiring an additional 5,731 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on AFL. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Aflac in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped 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 report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Two equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $2,733,048.59. This trade represents a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 transaction, the director now owns 49,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,360,422.98. The trade was a 37.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $108.02 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $106.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.40. The firm has a market cap of $58.96 billion, a PE ratio of 11.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $79.69 and a 12-month high of $115.50. 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 (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current 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.