OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd Purchases New Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,120 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $323,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at about $163,409,000. Amundi boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,232,683 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its position in Aflac by 471.4% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 600,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $67,080,000 after acquiring an additional 495,000 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Aflac by 670.9% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 556,576 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $57,572,000 after purchasing an additional 484,378 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,290,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AFL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $103.36.

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Aflac Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of AFL traded down $0.09 on Tuesday, reaching $109.56. The stock had a trading volume of 1,675,601 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,994,051. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.10. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $79.31 and a 12-month high of $115.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $106.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.61.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. Sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total transaction of $2,558,529.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $5,360,422.98. The trade was a 37.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 55,546 shares of company stock valued at $5,863,616 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

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.