Stifel Financial Corp Cuts Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Stifel Financial Corp cut its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 550,510 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 40,043 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp owned about 0.10% of Aflac worth $56,945,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of AFL. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 276.0% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 39,675 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,104,000 after acquiring an additional 29,124 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. MML Investors Services LLC grew its position in shares of Aflac by 45.4% in the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 111,625 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,547,000 after buying an additional 34,845 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 133,350 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,794,000 after acquiring an additional 1,350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis bought a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $8,441,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE:AFL traded up $0.47 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $108.41. The company had a trading volume of 344,179 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,112,626. The firm has a market cap of $59.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.28, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $107.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.07. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $80.59 and a 52 week high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. On average, analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 25,393 shares in the company, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was 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 $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. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AFL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased 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 note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Aflac from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective 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. Two 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, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $103.93.

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.