MetLife Investment Management LLC Has $13.79 Million Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 133,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,350 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $13,794,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth about $349,699,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $163,409,000. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 81.1% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,753,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $285,181,000 after buying an additional 1,232,683 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,340,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,310,640,000 after acquiring an additional 653,275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 670.9% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 556,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,572,000 after acquiring an additional 484,378 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the director now 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the business’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,360,422.98. The trade was a 37.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL stock opened at $107.35 on Monday. 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 twelve month low of $80.59 and a twelve month high of $115.50. The business’s fifty day moving average is $106.72 and its 200-day moving average is $107.24. The company has a market cap of $58.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. Equities research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AFL shares. StockNews.com raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on 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. upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced 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 report on Thursday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.