Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. Increases Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. grew its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 29,852 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,820 shares during the quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $3,088,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in Aflac by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 7,643 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $791,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 6,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $662,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 23.2% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. TKG Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Aflac by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. TKG Advisors LLC now owns 21,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,230,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Aflac by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $720,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:AFL opened at $109.56 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $59.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.41, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $106.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.62. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $79.31 and a 52 week high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,733,048.59. This trade represents a 3.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 55,546 shares of company stock worth $5,863,616 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AFL shares. StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.36.

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.