Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Bought by SageView Advisory Group LLC

SageView Advisory Group LLC grew its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,058 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the period. SageView Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $213,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AFL. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Aflac by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,340,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,310,640,000 after buying an additional 653,275 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Aflac by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,465,433 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,286,042,000 after acquiring an additional 288,482 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth approximately $349,699,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Aflac by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,226,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $333,768,000 after purchasing an additional 47,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in Aflac by 81.1% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,753,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $285,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,232,683 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $107.43 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.64 billion, a PE ratio of 11.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $106.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.40. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $79.93 and a twelve month high of $115.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share 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 anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of Aflac 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 transaction, the director now directly 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. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AFL. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Aflac from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Aflac in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.93.

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.