Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Cuts Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,760 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 237 shares during the quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $802,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $5,360,422.98. This trade represents a 37.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total transaction of $107,630.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 25,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,733,048.59. This 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 company insiders.

Aflac Price Performance

Aflac stock opened at $101.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $106.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.71. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $79.31 and a 12 month high of $115.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.64 billion, a PE ratio of 10.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. 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.