MML Investors Services LLC Boosts Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

MML Investors Services LLC increased its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 45.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 111,625 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 34,845 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $11,547,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Aflac by 1.3% in 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 grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $1,286,042,000 after purchasing an additional 288,482 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth $349,699,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Aflac by 1.5% during the 4th 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 buying an additional 47,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in Aflac by 81.1% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,753,513 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $285,181,000 after buying an additional 1,232,683 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Aflac Trading Up 3.2 %

Shares of AFL opened at $108.28 on Wednesday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $106.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.17. The stock has a market cap of $59.10 billion, a PE ratio of 11.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $80.59 and a 52-week high of $115.50.

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 (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%. Research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In related news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 $5,360,422.98. The trade was a 37.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 25,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,733,048.59. This represents 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Aflac in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $111.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Aflac from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Two 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 MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average 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.

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