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

Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Aflac (NYSE:AFL) to a strong sell rating in a report released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $124.00 target price (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $99.00 price target (up from $98.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 target price (up from $101.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $116.62.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL opened at $116.48 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $58.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.60. Aflac has a 52-week low of $104.66 and a 52-week high of $130.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.12. The business’s fifty day moving average is $121.59 and its 200-day moving average is $116.09.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.01). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 26.91%.The company had revenue of $4.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Aflac will post 7.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.33, for a total value of $1,686,487.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 50,844,690 shares in the company, valued at $6,168,986,237.70. This trade represents a 0.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.10, for a total transaction of $74,460.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 32,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,059,311. The trade was a 1.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 507,333 shares of company stock worth $59,450,256 over the last ninety days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,142,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,301,056,000 after buying an additional 6,759,169 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,093,787,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Aflac by 27.8% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,201,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $609,843,000 after acquiring an additional 1,132,091 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Aflac by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,550,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $499,216,000 after acquiring an additional 67,650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $420,078,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Company Profile

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.