Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases New Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 172,522 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $17,843,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership bought a new stake in Aflac during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Down 8.8 %

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $101.94 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $106.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $107.70. The stock has a market cap of $55.64 billion, a PE ratio of 10.62, 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 12 month low of $79.31 and a 12 month high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. Research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total transaction of $3,197,456.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,360,422.98. This trade represents a 37.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 25,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,733,048.59. This represents a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AFL shares. Barclays dropped their price target on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.29.

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.