Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. Increases Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 29,852 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,820 shares during the period. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $3,088,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nwam LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the third quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its stake in Aflac by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 3,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $421,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,499,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 64,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,188,000 after purchasing an additional 5,858 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the third quarter valued at about $730,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL stock opened at $109.56 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $106.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.10. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $79.31 and a 52-week high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total value of $2,558,529.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total value of $107,630.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,393 shares in the company, valued at $2,733,048.59. The trade was a 3.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 55,546 shares of company stock worth $5,863,616 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on AFL. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Aflac in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.36.

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.