Barclays PLC Purchases 36,501 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,427,628 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 36,501 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned 0.26% of Aflac worth $147,673,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Aflac by 1.3% during 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 buying an additional 653,275 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Aflac by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,465,433 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,286,042,000 after acquiring an additional 288,482 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth $349,699,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Aflac by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,226,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $333,768,000 after purchasing an additional 47,119 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in Aflac by 81.1% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,753,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $285,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,232,683 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now owns 49,962 shares in the company, valued at $5,360,422.98. The trade was a 37.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director now owns 25,393 shares in the company, valued at $2,733,048.59. The trade was a 3.79 % 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AFL. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Barclays decreased their price target on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.93.

Aflac Price Performance

Aflac stock opened at $108.52 on Tuesday. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $79.69 and a 52-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. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $106.37 and its 200 day moving average is $107.39. The company has a market cap of $59.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.30, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.