Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Bought by Mariner LLC

Mariner LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 158,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,777 shares during the period. Mariner LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $16,383,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AFL. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Aflac by 10.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,391,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $155,529,000 after purchasing an additional 127,911 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its stake in Aflac by 29.3% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,490 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 564 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Aflac by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 20,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,279,000 after acquiring an additional 852 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the third quarter worth about $594,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 5.5% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 158,424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,712,000 after purchasing an additional 8,274 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE:AFL opened at $107.43 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $58.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $106.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.40. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $79.93 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50. 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 (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,733,048.59. This represents a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 49,962 shares in the company, valued at $5,360,422.98. This trade represents a 37.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Aflac in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target 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, April 10th. Two equities 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.93.

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.