Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by TIAA Trust National Association

TIAA Trust National Association decreased its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 11.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,939 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,819 shares during the quarter. TIAA Trust National Association’s holdings in Aflac were worth $2,993,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its holdings in Aflac by 5.9% in the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 3,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $421,000 after buying an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 11,233 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,256,000 after purchasing an additional 1,396 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp raised its holdings in Aflac by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 2,424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the third quarter worth approximately $216,000. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in Aflac by 4.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,202,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $134,395,000 after purchasing an additional 45,745 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE AFL opened at $110.41 on Thursday. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $79.31 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $106.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.10.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total transaction of $2,558,529.60. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total transaction of $107,630.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 55,546 shares of company stock valued at $5,863,616. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AFL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays cut 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. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Aflac in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.36.

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.