Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Has $32.40 Million Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 313,211 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 17,613 shares during the quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned 0.06% of Aflac worth $32,399,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 75.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $88,533,000 after purchasing an additional 333,083 shares during the period. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at about $948,000. Willis Investment Counsel raised its position in shares of Aflac by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 273,466 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,287,000 after buying an additional 3,357 shares in the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,014,000. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 108,405 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,213,000 after acquiring an additional 5,731 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE:AFL traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $105.73. 2,002,841 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,105,563. The firm has a market cap of $57.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.01, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $107.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.76. 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 fifty-two week low of $83.27 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50.

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

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 21st. Aflac's payout ratio is presently 36.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

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 transaction of $107,630.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 25,393 shares in the company, valued at $2,733,048.59. The trade was a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 49,962 shares of the company's stock, 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. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on AFL. StockNews.com cut Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Aflac from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $111.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $104.00.

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.