Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Purchases Shares of 67,790 Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 67,790 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,475,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. DNB Asset Management AS grew its position in Aflac by 51.3% in the fourth quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 168,003 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $18,526,000 after buying an additional 56,975 shares during the last quarter. BIP Wealth LLC grew its position in Aflac by 348.3% in the fourth quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 55,723 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,145,000 after buying an additional 43,293 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in Aflac by 10.4% in the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,731,482 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $193,407,000 after buying an additional 163,791 shares during the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its position in Aflac by 126.1% in the third quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 21,345 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,384,000 after buying an additional 11,903 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Aflac by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,866,471 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $206,712,000 after buying an additional 97,766 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Aflac Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $117.78 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $112.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $111.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.62. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $96.95 and a 12-month high of $119.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.66 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 166,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.38, for a total transaction of $18,655,080.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 51,723,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,812,641,978. The trade was a 0.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 814,028 shares of company stock valued at $91,815,931. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Evercore upgraded shares of Aflac from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Barclays set a $99.00 price target on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $111.82.

Aflac Company Profile

Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is a provider of supplemental insurance products designed to help policyholders manage out-of-pocket health care and living expenses. The company underwrites a range of individual and group policies that typically pay cash benefits directly to insureds when covered events occur, enabling greater financial flexibility for medical treatment, hospital stays, critical illness, and related costs. Aflac's product mix includes supplemental health insurance, life insurance and other specialty coverages intended to complement primary medical plans.

Founded in the mid-20th century and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac distributes its products through a combination of employer-sponsored programs, independent brokers and agents, and direct marketing.

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