Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Price Target Raised to $143.00

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) had its price target hoisted by Piper Sandler from $138.00 to $143.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on AFL. Weiss Ratings upgraded Aflac from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Evercore raised their price target on Aflac from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $103.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on Aflac from $119.00 to $123.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on Aflac from $137.00 to $133.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $117.53.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $127.01 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $62.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.89, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $118.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $116.48. Aflac has a 52 week low of $105.76 and a 52 week high of $131.18.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.63. Aflac had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The business had revenue of $4.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.49 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 31.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Aflac will post 7.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 18th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 18th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Aflac’s payout ratio is 35.57%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 113,611 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.53, for a total value of $13,466,311.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 50,134,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,942,422,016.37. This trade represents a 0.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 700,062 shares of company stock worth $81,675,348. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,630,000. Atlas Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at $1,802,000. Callan Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,546,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in Aflac by 137.4% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 40,904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,796,000 after acquiring an additional 23,677 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Aflac by 135.5% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 142,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,599,000 after acquiring an additional 81,803 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Company Profile

Aflac Incorporated is an insurance company that provides supplemental health and life insurance to individuals and businesses. Its products are designed to help customers manage expenses that may not be covered by major medical insurance, including costs associated with accidents, cancer, critical illness and hospital stays. The company operates primarily in the United States and Japan. In the U.S., Aflac offers workplace benefits such as accident, disability, dental, vision and life insurance. In Japan, it provides products including cancer, medical and life insurance.