L.M. Kohn & Company Cuts Holdings in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

L.M. Kohn & Company trimmed its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 125 shares during the period. L.M. Kohn & Company’s holdings in Aflac were worth $221,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 1,526.7% in the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Hilltop National Bank purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction of $102,570.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 25,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,575,019.85. This trade represents a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Price Performance

NYSE AFL opened at $105.68 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $56.52 billion, a PE ratio of 23.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. The business’s fifty day moving average is $108.66 and its 200 day moving average is $105.62. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $96.95 and a fifty-two week high of $115.43.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter. Aflac had a return on equity of 15.08% and a net margin of 15.32%. Sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, August 12th that permits the company to repurchase 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AFL shares. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $102.00 price target (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Aflac from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.45.

Aflac Profile

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.