Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Rating Increased to Strong Sell at Mizuho

Mizuho upgraded shares of Aflac (NYSE:AFL) to a strong sell rating in a research note released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $104.00 price objective (up from $102.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Aflac from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $110.55.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $109.48 on Monday. Aflac has a fifty-two week low of $96.95 and a fifty-two week high of $115.83. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $109.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $106.72. The stock has a market cap of $57.38 billion, a PE ratio of 14.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter. Aflac had a return on equity of 14.97% and a net margin of 23.55%. Analysts anticipate that Aflac will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.29%.

Insider Activity

In other Aflac news, EVP Steven Kent Beaver sold 5,492 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.53, for a total value of $601,538.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 38,368 shares in the company, valued at $4,202,447.04. This represents a 12.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 15,862 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total transaction of $1,776,544.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 230,688 shares in the company, valued at $25,837,056. The trade was a 6.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 31,766 shares of company stock worth $3,549,706 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Aflac

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 0.8% during the third quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 11,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,321,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Courier Capital LLC grew its position in Aflac by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 2,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Aflac by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC now owns 2,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 5.1% in the third quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 2,037 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stiles Financial Services Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 3.2% in the third quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 3,169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $354,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

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.