Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 21.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 608,010 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 168,121 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Aflac worth $62,893,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AFL. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth approximately $948,000. Willis Investment Counsel lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 273,466 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,287,000 after purchasing an additional 3,357 shares during the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth $1,014,000. Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of Aflac by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 108,405 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,213,000 after purchasing an additional 5,731 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Aflac by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,391,127 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $155,529,000 after buying an additional 127,911 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 49,962 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,360,422.98. This represents a 37.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,733,048.59. This trade represents a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

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Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL traded up $3.22 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $103.22. 463,536 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,966,006. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.34 billion, a PE ratio of 10.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $106.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $107.63. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AFL. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays lowered their price target on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $104.29.

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.