Mufg Securities Americas Inc. Invests $763,000 in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 7,380 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $763,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 7,643 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $791,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC grew its holdings in Aflac by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 6,553 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $662,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Aflac by 23.2% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 531 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. TKG Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. TKG Advisors LLC now owns 21,255 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,230,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,960 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $720,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AFL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Aflac from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Aflac in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $111.00 target price for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $104.21.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL stock traded up $1.18 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $106.96. 3,427,209 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,113,342. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $107.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $106.46. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $86.46 and a one year high of $115.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.84.

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

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,360,422.98. This trade represents a 37.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,802 shares of company stock valued at $3,411,877 over the last ninety days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.