Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by KCM Investment Advisors LLC

KCM Investment Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,732 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 201 shares during the period. KCM Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $593,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its position in Aflac by 238.4% during the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 70,731 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,220,000 after acquiring an additional 49,829 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Aflac by 150.2% during the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 14,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,593,000 after purchasing an additional 8,552 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in shares of Aflac by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 345,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,660,000 after buying an additional 62,929 shares during the period. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at $225,000. Finally, Zacks Investment Management acquired a new position in Aflac in the third quarter valued at about $2,104,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE AFL opened at $101.94 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.62, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81. The business’s 50 day moving average is $106.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.69. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $79.31 and a 12-month high of $115.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. Research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total value of $107,630.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,393 shares in the company, valued at $2,733,048.59. This represents a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total value of $3,197,456.58. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,360,422.98. This represents a 37.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on AFL. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays lowered their price objective on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.29.

Aflac 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.