Cerity Partners LLC Grows Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 11.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 242,145 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 24,173 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $25,217,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter worth approximately $349,699,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth $163,409,000. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 81.1% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,753,513 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $285,181,000 after buying an additional 1,232,683 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,340,298 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,310,640,000 after acquiring an additional 653,275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Aflac by 670.9% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 556,576 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $57,572,000 after acquiring an additional 484,378 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of Aflac 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 transaction, the director now owns 49,962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,360,422.98. The trade was a 37.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AFL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. 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 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $103.93.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL stock traded up $2.51 during trading on Monday, hitting $109.34. The stock had a trading volume of 333,510 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,139,622. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $79.69 and a twelve month high of $115.50. The company's 50-day moving average price is $106.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.39, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (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, research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Company 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.