Guardian Capital LP Reduces Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Guardian Capital LP lessened its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the quarter. Guardian Capital LP’s holdings in Aflac were worth $2,526,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $349,699,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $163,409,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,296,014 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $754,700,000 after purchasing an additional 1,357,753 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 81.1% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,753,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $285,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,232,683 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,340,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,310,640,000 after purchasing an additional 653,275 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on AFL. 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 note on Thursday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets began 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.93.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total transaction of $107,630.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 25,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,733,048.59. This trade represents a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was 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 in the company, 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. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $108.60 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $59.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.31, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $80.59 and a 52 week high of $115.50. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $107.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $107.05. 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 (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Aflac

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.