Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC Sells 575 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 46,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 575 shares during the quarter. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $4,846,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AFL shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Barclays reduced their price target on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Aflac in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.29.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the business’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 49,962 shares in the company, valued at $5,360,422.98. The trade was a 37.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total value of $107,630.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,733,048.59. This represents 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 Stock Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $105.45 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $106.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.48. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $79.31 and a one year high of $115.50. 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 cap of $57.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued 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, research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

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.