Bank of Nova Scotia Has $7.36 Million Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 71,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,866 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Aflac were worth $7,355,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Aflac by 75.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,533,000 after acquiring an additional 333,083 shares in the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $948,000. Willis Investment Counsel raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 273,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,287,000 after purchasing an additional 3,357 shares in the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at $1,014,000. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its position in Aflac by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 108,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,213,000 after purchasing an additional 5,731 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 49,962 shares in the company, valued at $5,360,422.98. The trade was a 37.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total value of $107,630.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,733,048.59. This trade 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 company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on AFL. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Aflac from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut 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 note on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.93.

Aflac Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of AFL stock opened at $106.84 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $58.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.13, a P/E/G 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. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $106.34 and a 200-day moving average of $107.42.

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

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.