Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. reduced its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 45.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,428 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 45,248 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.'s holdings in Aflac were worth $5,527,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,694,511 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $524,846,000 after buying an additional 281,148 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Aflac by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,226,681 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $333,768,000 after acquiring an additional 47,119 shares during the period. Amundi grew its holdings in Aflac by 81.1% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,753,513 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $285,181,000 after acquiring an additional 1,232,683 shares in the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD grew its holdings in Aflac by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 2,395,045 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $247,682,000 after acquiring an additional 118,720 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Aflac by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,616,772 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $167,239,000 after purchasing an additional 32,220 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Activity

In other Aflac news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of Aflac 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,360,422.98. The trade was a 37.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 25,393 shares in the company, valued at $2,733,048.59. The trade was a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 55,546 shares of company stock valued at $5,863,616. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $109.56. The company had a trading volume of 1,675,601 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,994,051. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $79.31 and a 1 year high of $115.50. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $106.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap 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.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AFL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Aflac in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $111.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $103.36.

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.