KCM Investment Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

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

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Aflac by 75.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,533,000 after acquiring an additional 333,083 shares in the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at $948,000. Willis Investment Counsel boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 273,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,287,000 after acquiring an additional 3,357 shares during the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,014,000. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 108,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,213,000 after acquiring an additional 5,731 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective 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 began coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.29.

Aflac Trading Down 8.8 %

AFL stock opened at $101.94 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $55.64 billion, a PE ratio of 10.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $106.95 and its 200 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.08.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total value of $3,197,456.58. Following the transaction, the director now owns 49,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,360,422.98. The trade was a 37.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,733,048.59. This represents a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is 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.