Aflac Incorporated $AFL Shares Bought by Nisa Investment Advisors LLC

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 208,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,362 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $22,968,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Aflac by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,414,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $493,047,000 after buying an additional 310,220 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Aflac by 16.7% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,167,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $439,545,000 after buying an additional 594,971 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 0.3% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,926,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $438,621,000 after acquiring an additional 13,666 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 11.0% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 2,631,876 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $297,583,000 after acquiring an additional 261,547 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,866,471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $206,712,000 after acquiring an additional 97,766 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on AFL. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $120.00 target price on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $119.00 price target (up from $110.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.00.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 14,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.03, for a total transaction of $1,519,826.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 52,018,600 shares in the company, valued at $5,567,550,758. This represents a 0.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 15,590 shares of the firm’s 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 in the company, valued at $6,841,713.41. This represents a 20.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 235,077 shares of company stock worth $25,690,082. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $109.66 on Wednesday. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $96.95 and a fifty-two week high of $119.32. The business’s fifty day moving average is $111.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $110.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $56.49 billion, a PE ratio of 15.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.66.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.45 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 14.35%. Aflac’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

About Aflac

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.