State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Has $20.46 Million Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 197,770 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,773 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Aflac were worth $20,457,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Aflac by 75.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $88,533,000 after buying an additional 333,083 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 79.7% in the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 27,354 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,058,000 after purchasing an additional 12,131 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the third quarter valued at $979,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at $948,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in Aflac by 4.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,202,104 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $134,395,000 after acquiring an additional 45,745 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE AFL traded down $2.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $102.04. The company had a trading volume of 3,539,580 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,836,717. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $104.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.10. The company has a market capitalization of $56.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.63, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.99. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $78.62 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a $0.58 dividend. This is an increase from Aflac's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on AFL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $111.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $102.86.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 222,618 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.