Baird Financial Group Inc. Cuts Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Baird Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 191,021 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,921 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Aflac were worth $19,759,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AFL. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Aflac by 75.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $88,533,000 after purchasing an additional 333,083 shares during the period. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth about $948,000. Willis Investment Counsel boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 273,466 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,287,000 after acquiring an additional 3,357 shares in the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,014,000. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its position in Aflac by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 108,405 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,213,000 after purchasing an additional 5,731 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AFL shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $111.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Aflac from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $104.21.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE:AFL traded down $0.39 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $105.91. 1,353,074 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,103,511. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.84. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $107.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $106.67. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $85.43 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by ($0.01). Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. The firm had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.53 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 37.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.25%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 49,962 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,360,422.98. This trade represents a 37.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $2,733,048.59. The trade was a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

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.