8,720 Shares in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Acquired by Allianz SE

Allianz SE acquired a new stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 8,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $898,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Aflac by 75.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,533,000 after purchasing an additional 333,083 shares during the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $948,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,202,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $134,395,000 after buying an additional 45,745 shares during the period. Willis Investment Counsel grew its position in shares of Aflac by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 273,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,287,000 after buying an additional 3,357 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,014,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AFL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.36.

Aflac Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $109.71 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $79.31 and a 52 week high of $115.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $106.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total transaction of $107,630.00. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total value of $3,197,456.58. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,360,422.98. This represents a 37.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.