Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI Sells 9,346 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI lowered its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 202,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,346 shares during the quarter. Aflac makes up approximately 1.6% of Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s holdings in Aflac were worth $22,385,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Aflac during the second quarter valued at approximately $432,201,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 1,184.5% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,264,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $141,199,000 after purchasing an additional 1,165,676 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 132.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,227,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $137,078,000 after purchasing an additional 699,080 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 594,971 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 459.0% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 701,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $73,969,000 after buying an additional 575,915 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Down 0.5%

AFL opened at $106.16 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.43, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.66. 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 fifty-two week low of $96.95 and a fifty-two week high of $119.32. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $111.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $110.37.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced 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). Aflac had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 21.24%.The company had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.57 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 15,590 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.93, for a total transaction of $1,713,808.70. Following the sale, the director owned 62,237 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,841,713.41. This represents a 20.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 19,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.96, for a total value of $2,141,528.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 52,241,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,796,716,840. This represents a 0.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 205,877 shares of company stock worth $22,568,556. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AFL. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $119.00 price objective (up from $110.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Mizuho set a $107.00 price objective on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.73.

Aflac Profile

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.