Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Has $28.69 Million Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC reduced its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 347,721 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 27,655 shares during the quarter. Aflac makes up about 2.4% of Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC owned 0.06% of Aflac worth $28,687,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Studio Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC grew its position in Aflac by 471.4% in the 3rd quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the period. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In related news, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 30,493 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.91, for a total value of $2,436,695.63. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 86,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,879,451.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.62, for a total value of $423,100.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,516,390.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 30,493 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.91, for a total transaction of $2,436,695.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 86,090 shares in the company, valued at $6,879,451.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 46,493 shares of company stock worth $3,765,706. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL opened at $85.86 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $63.08 and a 52-week high of $86.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.40 billion, a PE ratio of 11.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $81.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.06 and a current ratio of 0.06.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by ($0.22). Aflac had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 24.92%. The company had revenue of $3.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.29 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.43 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Aflac from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Raymond James increased their target price on Aflac from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Evercore ISI cut shares of Aflac from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $76.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Aflac from $61.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.36.

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.