LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Acquires 182 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 10.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 182 shares during the quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $202,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,009,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Aflac by 35.2% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 73,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,603,000 after purchasing an additional 19,132 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 351.0% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 460 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 42,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,352,000 after purchasing an additional 3,370 shares during the period. Finally, Norden Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 2,395 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:AFL opened at $110.00 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.46, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.99. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $78.62 and a 1-year high of $115.50. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $104.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.08.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 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 year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on AFL shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 target price on the stock. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total transaction of $2,558,529.60. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.