Whittier Trust Co. Reduces Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Whittier Trust Co. lowered its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 356 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,327,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 75.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,533,000 after purchasing an additional 333,083 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at $979,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at $948,000. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Aflac by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,202,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $134,395,000 after buying an additional 45,745 shares during the period. Finally, Willis Investment Counsel increased 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 worth $28,287,000 after acquiring an additional 3,357 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 25,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,733,048.59. The trade was a 3.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total transaction of $2,558,529.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 55,546 shares of company stock valued at $5,863,616 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $108.10 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $105.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.64. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $79.31 and a 52-week high of $115.50. The company has a market cap of $59.08 billion, a PE ratio of 11.26, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AFL shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Aflac in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.36.

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.