KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Makes New Investment in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 297,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $30,791,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS owned 0.05% of Aflac at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AFL. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Aflac in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.36.

Aflac Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $108.10 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $79.31 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50. The firm has a market cap of $59.08 billion, a PE ratio of 11.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. The business’s fifty day moving average is $105.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. Analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total transaction of $3,197,456.58. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,962 shares in the company, valued at $5,360,422.98. This represents a 37.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total value of $2,558,529.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 55,546 shares of company stock valued at $5,863,616 in the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.