Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $122.80 and last traded at $121.5140, with a volume of 1653236 shares. The stock had previously closed at $120.47.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on AFL. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $124.00 target price (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Evercore upgraded shares of Aflac from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $114.64.

Aflac Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $116.79 and a 200 day moving average of $113.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.83, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.61.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. Aflac’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.66 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total transaction of $7,441,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 51,169,435 shares in the company, valued at $6,044,133,662.20. The trade was a 0.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 744,916 shares of company stock valued at $87,118,632 in the last ninety days. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Groupe la Francaise purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.