Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Acquires 3,902 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 6.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 68,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,902 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $7,054,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 75.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,533,000 after acquiring an additional 333,083 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 79.7% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 27,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,058,000 after purchasing an additional 12,131 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth about $979,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $948,000. Finally, FMR LLC grew 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. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 25,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,733,048.59. The trade was a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total transaction of $3,197,456.58. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,360,422.98. This trade represents a 37.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 55,546 shares of company stock worth $5,863,616 in the last quarter. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Aflac Stock Down 0.4 %

Aflac stock opened at $106.35 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market cap of $58.13 billion, a PE ratio of 11.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $79.31 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $105.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.73.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (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%. Research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on AFL shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.36.

About Aflac

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.