Advisory Services Network LLC Has $13.28 Million Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Advisory Services Network LLC lifted its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 341.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 128,345 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 99,291 shares during the quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $13,276,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in Aflac by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 71,101 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,355,000 after acquiring an additional 4,866 shares during the last quarter. Shelton Capital Management lifted its stake in Aflac by 126.1% in the 4th quarter. Shelton Capital Management now owns 125,501 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,982,000 after purchasing an additional 70,001 shares during the last quarter. Southeast Asset Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Aflac by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Southeast Asset Advisors LLC now owns 139,976 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $14,479,000 after purchasing an additional 708 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Aflac by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 242,145 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,217,000 after buying an additional 24,173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in Aflac by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,213,449 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $125,519,000 after buying an additional 11,345 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AFL shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $111.00 price objective for the company. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $103.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were 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 directly 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 this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were 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 owns 49,962 shares in the company, valued at $5,360,422.98. This represents a 37.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL traded up $2.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $106.84. 2,297,504 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,149,621. The firm's fifty day moving average is $106.34 and its 200 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 quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $58.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share 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.