Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 31,997 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 10.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 283,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 31,997 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of Aflac worth $29,376,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 75.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,533,000 after acquiring an additional 333,083 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 79.7% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 27,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,058,000 after purchasing an additional 12,131 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Aflac during the third quarter valued at $979,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at $948,000. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in Aflac by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,202,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $134,395,000 after purchasing an additional 45,745 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total transaction of $2,558,529.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AFL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.36.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $106.73 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.12, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.73. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $79.31 and a 12 month high of $115.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.08.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted 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 net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. As a group, analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.