Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC

Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,623 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 752 shares during the quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $788,000 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 the business. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 75.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,533,000 after buying an additional 333,083 shares during the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at $948,000. Willis Investment Counsel grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 273,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,287,000 after purchasing an additional 3,357 shares during the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $1,014,000. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 108,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,213,000 after purchasing an additional 5,731 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 49,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,360,422.98. This trade represents a 37.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total transaction of $107,630.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,393 shares in the company, valued at $2,733,048.59. The trade was a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on AFL shares. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Aflac in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.29.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL stock opened at $101.94 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 stock has a market cap of $55.64 billion, a PE ratio of 10.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $79.31 and a 1 year high of $115.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $106.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.70.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.