Allianz SE Purchases New Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Allianz SE bought a new position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 8,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $898,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership bought a new stake in Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFL has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays dropped their price target on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued 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. According to MarketBeat, Aflac presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.36.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $109.71 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $106.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.66. The company has a market capitalization of $59.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.10. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $79.31 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued 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%. Research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Aflac news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 49,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,360,422.98. This trade represents a 37.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.