Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Has $66.74 Million Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lowered its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 645,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 46,186 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Aflac were worth $66,739,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 75.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,533,000 after buying an additional 333,083 shares during the period. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth $948,000. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Aflac by 4.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,202,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $134,395,000 after acquiring an additional 45,745 shares during the period. Willis Investment Counsel grew its position in shares of Aflac by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 273,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,287,000 after purchasing an additional 3,357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth about $1,014,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were 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 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total value of $3,197,456.58. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,360,422.98. This trade represents a 37.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Aflac Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of AFL opened at $109.71 on Friday. 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 $59.88 billion, a PE ratio of 11.43, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $79.31 and a 1 year high of $115.50. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $106.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.66.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.36.

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.