Titleist Asset Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Titleist Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Titleist Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $344,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 75.2% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth approximately $948,000. Willis Investment Counsel lifted its stake in Aflac by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 273,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,287,000 after buying an additional 3,357 shares during the last quarter. 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 grew its position 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 worth $11,213,000 after acquiring an additional 5,731 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Down 8.8 %

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $101.94 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $79.31 and a 52 week high of $115.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $106.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.69. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AFL. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Aflac has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.29.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total value of $107,630.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 25,393 shares in the company, valued at $2,733,048.59. This represents a 3.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total value of $3,197,456.58. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.