First National Trust Co Trims Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

First National Trust Co decreased its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 31.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 45,507 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 21,023 shares during the quarter. First National Trust Co’s holdings in Aflac were worth $5,083,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Aflac by 16.7% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,167,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $439,545,000 after purchasing an additional 594,971 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the second quarter worth about $432,201,000. Guinness Asset Management LTD lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 19.4% in the second quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 2,372,484 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $250,187,000 after buying an additional 385,546 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 3.8% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,768,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $196,662,000 after acquiring an additional 65,308 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in Aflac by 10.4% during the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,731,482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $193,407,000 after acquiring an additional 163,791 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 15,862 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total transaction of $1,776,544.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 230,688 shares in the company, valued at $25,837,056. This trade represents a 6.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 786 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.75, for a total value of $89,407.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 24,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,824,298.75. The trade was a 3.07% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 29,044 shares of company stock valued at $3,241,981. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Aflac Stock Down 3.3%

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $113.30 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.47, a PEG ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $96.95 and a one year high of $119.32. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $110.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $108.81.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $4.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.45 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 14.35%. Aflac’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.57 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AFL shares. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Mizuho set a $107.00 target price on Aflac in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Aflac from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Aflac from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Evercore upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $110.91.

About Aflac

Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is a provider of supplemental insurance products designed to help policyholders manage out-of-pocket health care and living expenses. The company underwrites a range of individual and group policies that typically pay cash benefits directly to insureds when covered events occur, enabling greater financial flexibility for medical treatment, hospital stays, critical illness, and related costs. Aflac’s product mix includes supplemental health insurance, life insurance and other specialty coverages intended to complement primary medical plans.

Founded in the mid-20th century and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac distributes its products through a combination of employer-sponsored programs, independent brokers and agents, and direct marketing.