Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $125.93 and last traded at $124.7750, with a volume of 4031470 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $124.72.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AFL. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Evercore raised shares of Aflac from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered Aflac from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $124.00 price objective (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $114.50.

Aflac Trading Down 0.0%

The firm has a market capitalization of $63.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.14, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $117.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $113.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. Aflac’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were given a dividend of $0.61 per share. 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%.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total transaction of $7,441,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,169,435 shares in the company, valued at $6,044,133,662.20. This trade represents a 0.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 744,916 shares of company stock valued at $87,118,632 in the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Aflac during the 2nd quarter valued at about $208,000. Annex Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,552,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. Tema ETFs LLC lifted its position in Aflac by 9.6% during the second quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 8,295 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $973,000 after purchasing an additional 725 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 163.9% during the 2nd quarter. Torren Management LLC now owns 475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 5.2% in the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 156,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,309,000 after purchasing an additional 7,694 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.