Russell Investments Group Ltd. Lowers Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 480,412 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 26,919 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.09% of Aflac worth $49,655,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AFL. Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its position in Aflac by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 18,485 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,912,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC boosted its stake in Aflac by 629.3% during the 4th quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 61,680 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,380,000 after purchasing an additional 53,223 shares during the period. Aviva PLC boosted its stake in Aflac by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 321,523 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,258,000 after purchasing an additional 59,080 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth $17,843,000. Finally, Unison Advisors LLC increased its stake in Aflac by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 45,764 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,734,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

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Aflac Price Performance

AFL stock traded up $2.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $106.84. 2,297,504 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,149,621. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $106.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.42. 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 $58.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.13, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $79.31 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. Research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AFL. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $111.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Aflac from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $103.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 49,962 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,360,422.98. This represents a 37.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 25,393 shares of the company's stock, 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. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.