Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. Sells 557 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. reduced its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,407 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 557 shares during the quarter. Aflac makes up about 2.2% of Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $2,318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Raelipskie Partnership bought a new position in Aflac during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AFL shares. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays reduced their target price on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.36.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL stock opened at $109.56 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $106.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.62. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $79.31 and a 52-week high of $115.50. The company has a market capitalization of $59.88 billion, a PE ratio of 11.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. 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 quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 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%. Analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,733,048.59. The trade was a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total transaction of $2,558,529.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 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 Company 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.