JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) had its price objective lifted by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $108.00 to $117.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price points to a potential downside of 4.75% from the company’s current price.

AFL has been the subject of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $108.00 price target (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Friday, July 10th. Evercore raised Aflac from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered Aflac from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $130.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Mizuho set a $112.00 price objective on shares of Aflac in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $115.50.

Aflac Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of AFL stock traded down $1.25 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $122.83. 300,558 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,389,273. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $118.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $113.83. Aflac has a one year low of $96.95 and a one year high of $125.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.61. 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Aflac will post 7.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 27,845 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.71, for a total transaction of $3,249,789.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 50,898,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,940,362,767.90. This trade represents a 0.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 12,370 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.54, for a total value of $1,441,599.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 33,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,881,947.40. The trade was a 27.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 744,916 shares of company stock worth $87,118,632 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Aflac

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Groupe la Francaise acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. 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.