State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Decreases Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury cut its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 186,709 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,945 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury's holdings in Aflac were worth $19,313,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Aflac Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:AFL traded up $0.63 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $108.57. The stock had a trading volume of 311,258 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,979,342. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $107.14 and a 200 day moving average of $107.07. The company has a market capitalization of $59.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.31, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $80.59 and a one year high of $115.50. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 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 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AFL. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Aflac from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays dropped their target price on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $103.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total value 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 approximately $5,360,422.98. This represents a 37.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 25,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,733,048.59. The trade was a 3.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.