81,601 Shares in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Bought by Natixis

Natixis bought a new stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 81,601 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,441,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Aflac by 75.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $88,533,000 after purchasing an additional 333,083 shares in the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth about $948,000. Willis Investment Counsel lifted its holdings in Aflac by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 273,466 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,287,000 after buying an additional 3,357 shares during the period. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,014,000. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 108,405 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,213,000 after acquiring an additional 5,731 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of Aflac stock traded up $0.70 during trading on Thursday, hitting $109.13. 1,613,694 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,118,547. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $80.59 and a 1 year high of $115.50. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $106.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.37, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.08.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total transaction of $3,197,456.58. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,962 shares in the company, valued at $5,360,422.98. The trade was a 37.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total transaction of $107,630.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,393 shares in the company, valued at $2,733,048.59. This trade represents a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Aflac from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.