Unigestion Holding SA Buys 12,796 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Unigestion Holding SA boosted its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 23.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 66,870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 12,796 shares during the period. Unigestion Holding SA’s holdings in Aflac were worth $6,917,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the third quarter worth $38,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Price Performance

Aflac stock opened at $101.94 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $55.64 billion, a PE ratio of 10.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $106.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $107.70. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $79.31 and a 12 month high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 EPS 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%. Analysts expect 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 Aflac stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $5,360,422.98. This trade represents a 37.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 25,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,733,048.59. The trade was a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on AFL. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 note on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays reduced their target price on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Aflac in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price target on the stock. Two equities 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.29.

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.