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 shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 202,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,346 shares during the period. Aflac makes up 1.6% of Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s holdings in Aflac were worth $22,385,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AFL. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in Aflac by 188.5% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 100.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the third quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AFL shares. Wall Street Zen cut Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Barclays set a $101.00 price objective on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Aflac from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.73.

Aflac Stock Down 0.5%

AFL opened at $106.16 on Wednesday. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $96.95 and a fifty-two week high of $119.32. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $111.28 and its 200 day moving average is $110.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.43, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.66.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 14.35%. The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.57 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 15,590 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.93, for a total transaction of $1,713,808.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 62,237 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,841,713.41. This trade 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 link. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 19,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 52,241,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,796,716,840. This represents a 0.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 205,877 shares of company stock valued at $22,568,556. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.