Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. cut its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 40.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 104,314 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 70,119 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in Aflac were worth $10,790,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays cut their target price on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Aflac in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $111.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Aflac from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $103.93.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the director now owns 49,962 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,360,422.98. This trade represents a 37.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 25,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,733,048.59. The trade was a 3.79 % 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.

Aflac Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Aflac stock traded up $0.61 during trading on Monday, hitting $108.55. 1,756,278 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,118,139. The stock has a market cap of $59.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $107.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $107.07. 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 Incorporated has a 12-month low of $80.59 and a 12-month high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released 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 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 earnings per share 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.