Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $112.2727.

Several research firms recently commented on AFL. Wall Street Zen raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Mizuho set a $104.00 price target on Aflac in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Barclays set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 27,845 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.71, for a total value of $3,249,789.95. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 50,898,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,940,362,767.90. The trade was a 0.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 12,370 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.54, for a total transaction of $1,441,599.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 33,310 shares in the company, valued at $3,881,947.40. This trade represents a 27.08% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,042,771 shares of company stock valued at $120,575,104. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Groupe la Francaise acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL stock opened at $120.73 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market cap of $61.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.70, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $116.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.89. Aflac has a 12-month low of $96.95 and a 12-month high of $120.88.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The business had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Aflac will post 7.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were issued a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.70%.

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.