Knuff & Co LLC Trims Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Knuff & Co LLC trimmed its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 25,425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 700 shares during the quarter. Knuff & Co LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $2,098,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AFL. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the third quarter worth $33,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL traded down $0.83 on Friday, hitting $83.21. 2,938,536 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,533,085. The firm has a market cap of $47.88 billion, a PE ratio of 9.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $83.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.89. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $64.10 and a twelve month high of $86.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.09 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.88% and a net margin of 27.67%. The business’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.55 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Aflac from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $61.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Aflac from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $82.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.62, for a total value of $423,100.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,920 shares in the company, valued at $1,516,390.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Aflac news, SVP Albert Riggieri sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.34, for a total transaction of $666,720.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 32,825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,735,635.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.62, for a total transaction of $423,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,516,390.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 46,493 shares of company stock valued at $3,765,706 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Company 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.