Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC Sells 117 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC decreased its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 8,276 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 117 shares during the quarter. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $856,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the third quarter worth about $34,000. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Aflac by 41.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE:AFL opened at $107.56 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $58.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $104.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.67. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $79.22 and a twelve month 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) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share 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, research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AFL shares. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective 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 boosted their target price on Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

About Aflac

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.