NewEdge Advisors LLC Sells 42,897 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

NewEdge Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 23.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 138,526 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 42,897 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $14,329,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Aflac by 75.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $88,533,000 after buying an additional 333,083 shares during the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $948,000. Willis Investment Counsel boosted its stake in Aflac by 1.2% during 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 period. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,014,000. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 108,405 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,213,000 after buying an additional 5,731 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AFL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Aflac from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Aflac in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $111.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group upped 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, April 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $103.93.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE:AFL traded up $2.46 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $107.43. 231,341 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,116,293. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $106.76 and a 200 day moving average of $107.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $80.59 and a twelve month high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac 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 sale, the director now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

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.