Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Has $5.53 Million Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. trimmed its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 45.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 53,428 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 45,248 shares during the quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $5,527,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new position in Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AFL has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.36.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total transaction of $3,197,456.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,962 shares in the company, valued at $5,360,422.98. This trade represents a 37.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of Aflac 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 transaction, the director now owns 25,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,733,048.59. This represents a 3.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 55,546 shares of company stock worth $5,863,616 over the last three months. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Aflac Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $108.66 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $59.39 billion, a PE ratio of 11.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $79.31 and a 12-month high of $115.50. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $105.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.66. 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, sell-side 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.