Nomura Holdings Inc. Has $1.70 Million Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Nomura Holdings Inc. decreased its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 85.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,474 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 96,717 shares during the quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,704,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth approximately $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 valued at $28,287,000 after acquiring an additional 3,357 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,391,127 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $155,529,000 after purchasing an additional 127,911 shares during the period. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 71.5% in the 4th quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 41,668 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,310,000 after purchasing an additional 17,375 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth $192,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of AFL traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $102.56. The stock had a trading volume of 313,691 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,108,299. The firm has a market cap of $55.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $106.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.44. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $86.46 and a twelve month high of $115.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.08.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $4.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.66 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 37.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be given a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 21st. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AFL shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group upped their price target on Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Aflac from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Three 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, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $104.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 2,750 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.70, for a total value of $290,675.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,728 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $711,149.60. The trade was a 29.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 37,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.59, for a total value of $3,906,830.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 70,992 shares in the company, valued at $7,496,045.28. The trade was a 34.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 71,552 shares of company stock worth $7,609,382. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.