Townsquare Capital LLC Has $1.46 Million Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Townsquare Capital LLC cut its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 28.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 14,112 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,585 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,460,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 10.1% during 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 in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its stake in Aflac by 29.3% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,490 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 564 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 4.4% in 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 bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the third quarter valued at approximately $594,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in shares of Aflac by 5.5% during the third 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. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total transaction of $3,197,456.58. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,360,422.98. This trade represents a 37.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total transaction of $107,630.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,733,048.59. This trade represents a 3.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Aflac stock opened at $107.43 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $106.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.40. 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 $79.93 and a 1-year high of $115.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.64 billion, a PE ratio of 11.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. As a group, analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AFL shares. 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 objective for the company. 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, April 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.93.

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.