Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co Has $14.51 Million Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 27.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 140,317 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 30,000 shares during the quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co's holdings in Aflac were worth $14,514,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at $349,699,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $163,409,000. Amundi lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,232,683 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 653,275 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position 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 worth $57,572,000 after buying an additional 484,378 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Price Performance

Aflac stock traded up $0.51 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $105.81. 1,314,109 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,148,559. The firm has a market cap of $57.75 billion, a PE ratio of 10.97, 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. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $106.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.48. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $79.31 and a 12 month high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 25,393 shares of the company's stock, 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. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays reduced their target price on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler lifted their target price 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, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $111.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $103.93.

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.