Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by California State Teachers Retirement System

California State Teachers Retirement System cut its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 834,272 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 43,484 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.15% of Aflac worth $86,297,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AFL shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price 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. Barclays reduced their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Aflac in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.93.

Aflac Stock Up 0.6 %

Aflac stock opened at $108.55 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $107.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.04. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $80.59 and a twelve month high of $115.50. The company has a market capitalization of $59.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total value of $107,630.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,733,048.59. This trade represents a 3.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.