Kanawha Capital Management LLC Sells 78,425 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Kanawha Capital Management LLC significantly cut its stake in Aflac Incorporated by selling 78,425 shares, reducing its holdings by 93% in the second quarter.
• Aflac has announced a share buyback program allowing the repurchase of up to 100 million shares, indicating confidence in the company's valuation.
• Despite mixed ratings from analysts, Aflac's stock currently holds a consensus Hold rating with a price target of approximately $109.45.

Kanawha Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 93.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,943 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 78,425 shares during the quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $627,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 1.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 5,307,681 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $590,161,000 after acquiring an additional 56,776 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Aflac by 10.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,575,054 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $397,510,000 after purchasing an additional 349,787 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in Aflac by 0.8% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,730,739 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $192,441,000 after purchasing an additional 13,575 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Aflac by 4.3% in the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,703,397 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $178,056,000 after purchasing an additional 70,244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in Aflac by 26.2% in the second 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 purchasing an additional 343,881 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Piper Sandler set a $125.00 target price on shares of Aflac and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.45.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total value of $102,570.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 25,105 shares in the company, valued at $2,575,019.85. The trade was a 3.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL stock opened at $107.82 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $96.95 and a 12 month high of $115.44. The stock has a market cap of $57.66 billion, a PE ratio of 24.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company's fifty day moving average price is $108.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.46.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter. Aflac had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 15.08%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter. On average, equities analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th were paid a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Aflac's payout ratio is presently 52.61%.

Aflac declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, August 12th that permits the company to repurchase 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.

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