Kanawha Capital Management LLC Has $8.44 Million Stake in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Kanawha Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 1,188.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 76,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 70,619 shares during the period. Kanawha Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $8,442,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. grew its position in Aflac by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 11,923 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,315,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Aflac by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,309 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,247,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 360,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,771,000 after acquiring an additional 50,200 shares during the period. Caliber Wealth Management LLC KS lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. Caliber Wealth Management LLC KS now owns 2,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 483,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,298,000 after acquiring an additional 71,955 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 86,155 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.24, for a total transaction of $9,756,192.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 51,636,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,847,367,651.80. This trade represents a 0.17% decrease in their position. The transaction 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 572,632 shares of company stock worth $63,514,634. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AFL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Aflac from $118.00 to $116.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Aflac from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Barclays set a $101.00 price objective on Aflac and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Mizuho set a $102.00 target price on Aflac and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Evercore raised Aflac from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.82.

Aflac Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of AFL stock opened at $114.76 on Thursday. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $96.95 and a 12-month high of $119.32. The company has a market capitalization of $59.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $111.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $110.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.45 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 14.35%. Aflac’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.