Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Position Increased by Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 876 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $2,867,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at $163,409,000. Amundi grew its position in Aflac by 81.1% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,753,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $285,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,232,683 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its position in Aflac by 471.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 495,000 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 670.9% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 556,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,572,000 after purchasing an additional 484,378 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the third quarter valued at approximately $42,290,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective 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. Barclays dropped their price target 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. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.36.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL opened at $108.49 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $59.30 billion, a PE ratio of 11.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.65. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $79.31 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share 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 analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on 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 owns 25,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,733,048.59. The trade was a 3.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The stock was 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 directly owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 55,546 shares of company stock valued at $5,863,616 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.80% 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.