Mizuho Securities USA LLC Acquires 14,703 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 45.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,703 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $4,902,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Raelipskie Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.36.

Aflac Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $108.10 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $79.31 and a 52-week high of $115.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $105.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.63. 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 (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now directly owns 49,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,360,422.98. This represents a 37.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 55,546 shares of company stock valued at $5,863,616. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Aflac 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.