Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 73.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 340,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 923,526 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Aflac worth $35,232,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Raelipskie Partnership purchased a new position in Aflac during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AFL shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.36.

Aflac Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $109.71 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $79.31 and a 1-year high of $115.50. The business has a 50-day moving average of $106.49 and a 200-day moving average of $107.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The company has a market capitalization of $59.88 billion, a PE ratio of 11.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 25,393 shares in the company, valued at $2,733,048.59. This represents a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 49,962 shares in the company, 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. Company 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.