Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Makes New $17.84 Million Investment in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 172,522 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $17,843,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AFL. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new position in Aflac during the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.29.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 49,962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,360,422.98. This trade represents a 37.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 25,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,733,048.59. This represents a 3.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL opened at $101.94 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $55.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81. The business’s fifty day moving average is $106.95 and its 200-day moving average is $107.70. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $79.31 and a 52-week high of $115.50. 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 (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac 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.