Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Stock Position Raised by Mizuho Securities USA LLC

Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 45.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 47,386 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 14,703 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $4,902,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its position in Aflac by 9.2% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 6,019 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $673,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its holdings in Aflac by 24.6% in the third quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 4,486 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $502,000 after buying an additional 886 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 963,223 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $107,688,000 after acquiring an additional 60,762 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 73,506 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,218,000 after acquiring an additional 12,768 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nwam LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $221,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company's stock.

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Aflac Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of AFL traded up $0.43 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $110.87. The company had a trading volume of 1,804,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,991,895. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $79.31 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $106.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.64. The stock has a market cap of $60.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on AFL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. 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 research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two investment 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.com, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $103.36.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total value of $2,558,529.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total transaction of $107,630.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,393 shares in the company, valued at $2,733,048.59. The trade was a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 55,546 shares of company stock valued at $5,863,616. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.