Aflac Incorporated $AFL Shares Acquired by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 3.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 309,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,700 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS owned approximately 0.06% of Aflac worth $32,689,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter worth approximately $140,746,000. Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 133.2% during the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 758,424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,329,000 after purchasing an additional 433,134 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Aflac by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,575,054 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $397,510,000 after buying an additional 349,787 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in Aflac by 26.2% in the 2nd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,654,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $174,515,000 after buying an additional 343,881 shares during the period. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc boosted its position in Aflac by 96.0% in the 1st quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 407,377 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,056,000 after buying an additional 199,583 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $112.85 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $106.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.46. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $96.95 and a 12 month high of $115.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.86.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.07. Aflac had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 15.08%. The firm had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.83 EPS. Aflac’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th were paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.61%.

Aflac declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 12th that allows the company to repurchase 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on AFL shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Aflac in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $2,575,019.85. This trade represents a 3.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.