Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Invests $20.91 Million in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 202,174 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $20,913,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC increased its stake in Aflac by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 1,157 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $119,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 397.7% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,235 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 2,585 shares in the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 8,954 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $926,000 after acquiring an additional 1,071 shares during the last quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. lifted its holdings in Aflac by 1,887.4% during the fourth quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 125,526 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,984,000 after acquiring an additional 119,210 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Aflac by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 824,947 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $85,333,000 after purchasing an additional 23,455 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of Aflac 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. The trade was a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $5,360,422.98. This represents a 37.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of Aflac stock traded down $5.08 on Thursday, reaching $103.60. The stock had a trading volume of 3,383,999 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,006,270. The business's 50 day moving average is $107.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $80.59 and a 1 year high of $115.50. The company has a market cap of $56.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.01). Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. The firm had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 37.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be issued a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Aflac's payout ratio is currently 24.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AFL shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Aflac from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Aflac in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $111.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Aflac from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $104.00.

Aflac Company Profile

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.