Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Sells 16,712 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. cut its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 17.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 79,676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 16,712 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $8,900,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the second quarter valued at approximately $432,201,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Aflac by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,167,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $439,545,000 after acquiring an additional 594,971 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Aflac by 459.0% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 701,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $73,969,000 after acquiring an additional 575,915 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Aflac by 146.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 772,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $81,422,000 after purchasing an additional 458,551 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Aflac by 65.5% during the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 975,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $102,861,000 after purchasing an additional 385,955 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Aflac from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $119.00 target price (up from $110.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Barclays set a $101.00 price target on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, December 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.73.

Aflac Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $111.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market cap of $57.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50 day moving average of $111.70 and a 200-day moving average of $110.23. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $96.95 and a one year high of $119.32.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.12). Aflac had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 14.35%. The business had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.57 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Steven Kent Beaver sold 7,387 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.58, for a total value of $839,015.46. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 40,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,602,943.08. This represents a 15.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.