Bank of Nova Scotia Acquires 4,866 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 71,101 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,866 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Aflac were worth $7,355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Buying and Selling 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 sale, the director now owns 49,962 shares in the company, valued at $5,360,422.98. This trade represents a 37.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now 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. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

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Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL traded down $0.49 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $108.02. 1,228,464 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,142,476. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $106.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $107.39. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $79.69 and a 52 week high of $115.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.25, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 data 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%. Analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Aflac from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $111.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $103.93.

About Aflac

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.