Knuff & Co LLC Buys New Stake in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 30,497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,576,000. Aflac makes up about 0.9% of Knuff & Co LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. NewEdge Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the second quarter worth about $474,000. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 2nd quarter valued at about $300,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 2nd quarter valued at about $313,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,452,000. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at about $920,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

NYSE:AFL opened at $116.48 on Thursday. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $104.66 and a 12 month high of $130.22. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $121.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $116.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $58.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.60.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $4.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 26.91% and a return on equity of 13.27%. Aflac’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.10, for a total value of $74,460.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 32,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,059,311. This represents a 1.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,900 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.33, for a total transaction of $1,686,487.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 50,844,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,168,986,237.70. This trade represents a 0.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 507,333 shares of company stock valued at $59,450,256 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AFL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Aflac from $117.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Aflac in a research report on Wednesday. They set an “underperform” rating and a $103.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 target price (up from $101.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $116.62.

Aflac 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.