Bank of Nova Scotia Purchases 4,866 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 71,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,866 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Aflac were worth $7,355,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $106.84 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $106.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.42. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $79.31 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50. The company has a market capitalization of $58.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total value of $107,630.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 25,393 shares in the company, valued at $2,733,048.59. This represents a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 49,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,360,422.98. This represents a 37.36 % 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 corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Aflac from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.93.

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.