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

Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 30,497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,576,000. Aflac comprises approximately 0.9% of Knuff & Co LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. DNB Asset Management AS lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 51.3% in the 4th quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 168,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,526,000 after buying an additional 56,975 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,743,000. Atlas Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the first quarter valued at about $1,802,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in Aflac by 77.3% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 63,646 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,018,000 after acquiring an additional 27,751 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Aflac by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,072,717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $118,256,000 after acquiring an additional 46,262 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AFL has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Aflac from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Mizuho set a $116.00 price objective on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $108.00 target price (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $138.00 target price (up from $130.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, August 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $116.62.

Aflac Trading Down 4.3%

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $116.48 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $104.66 and a 12-month high of $130.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.48, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.60. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $121.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $116.09.

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

Aflac Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.10, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 507,333 shares of company stock valued at $59,450,256. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

About Aflac

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.