Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Sells 27,158 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 559,881 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 27,158 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.10% of Aflac worth $57,914,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at about $349,699,000. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in Aflac by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 18,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,957,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $731,000. NEOS Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Aflac by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 31,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,244,000 after buying an additional 7,465 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 28.7% in the 4th quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 39,907 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,128,000 after buying an additional 8,890 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $109.71 on Friday. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $106.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.66. The company has a market cap of $59.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $79.31 and a 12 month high of $115.50.

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 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 analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target 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. Barclays reduced their price objective on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Aflac in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.36.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of Aflac 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 sale, the director now owns 25,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,733,048.59. The trade was a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was 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 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 currently owned by company insiders.

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.