Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Decreases Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lowered its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 70.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 163,745 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $7,175,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the third quarter worth $38,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on AFL. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Aflac in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.36.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total value of $2,558,529.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the business’s 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 55,546 shares of company stock worth $5,863,616 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL opened at $107.44 on Friday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $105.37 and its 200-day moving average is $107.69. The stock has a market cap of $58.72 billion, a PE ratio of 11.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $79.31 and a twelve month high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced 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 return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. On average, analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

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.