Cascade Financial Partners LLC Buys 400 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Cascade Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,837 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the quarter. Cascade Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,431,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Aflac by 75.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,533,000 after purchasing an additional 333,083 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Aflac by 79.7% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $979,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $948,000. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL stock opened at $106.35 on Wednesday. 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 Incorporated has a one year low of $79.31 and a one year high of $115.50. The stock has a market cap of $58.13 billion, a PE ratio of 11.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.73.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. On average, analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total transaction of $107,630.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,733,048.59. This trade represents a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 55,546 shares of company stock valued at $5,863,616. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on AFL. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. 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. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price target on the stock. Two investment 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. According to MarketBeat, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.36.

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.