Hsbc Holdings PLC Has $119.15 Million Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 10.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,151,909 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 109,182 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.21% of Aflac worth $119,150,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth $2,540,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 276.0% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 39,675 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,104,000 after buying an additional 29,124 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. MML Investors Services LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 45.4% during the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 111,625 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,547,000 after purchasing an additional 34,845 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Aflac by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 133,350 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,794,000 after purchasing an additional 1,350 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Aflac Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE:AFL traded up $0.48 on Monday, reaching $108.42. The stock had a trading volume of 344,179 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,112,638. 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 market cap of $59.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $80.59 and a 12-month high of $115.50. The company has a 50-day moving average of $107.14 and a 200 day moving average of $107.07.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on AFL. StockNews.com raised Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays dropped 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. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $103.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total value of $107,630.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 firm's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now owns 49,962 shares in the company, valued at $5,360,422.98. This represents a 37.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Aflac 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.