Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Stock Has Average Price Target of $115.31 According to Brokerages

Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the sixteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $117.20.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Aflac from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Mizuho lowered their target price on Aflac from $116.00 to $107.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Aflac from $137.00 to $133.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Aflac from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (up from $101.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 42,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.38, for a total transaction of $4,887,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 50,302,940 shares in the company, valued at $5,854,256,157.20. The trade was a 0.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 545,051 shares of company stock valued at $63,379,217. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the second quarter valued at about $6,630,000. Atlas Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,802,000. Callan Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,546,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in Aflac by 137.4% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 40,904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,796,000 after purchasing an additional 23,677 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 135.5% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 142,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,599,000 after purchasing an additional 81,803 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE AFL opened at $118.07 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $59.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.65, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $116.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $117.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Aflac has a 12-month low of $105.43 and a 12-month high of $130.22.

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

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were issued 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, August 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

More Aflac News

Here are the key news stories impacting Aflac this week:

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target on Aflac to $119 from $116 while maintaining a “neutral” rating. The increase reflects somewhat improved valuation support, although the target implies only limited upside from recent trading levels. JPMorgan Aflac Price Target Update
• Positive Sentiment: AM Best affirmed the credit ratings of Aflac and its subsidiaries, reinforcing confidence in the insurer’s financial strength and ability to meet policyholder obligations. This is supportive for a defensive insurer whose earnings depend partly on balance-sheet stability. AM Best Affirms Aflac Credit Ratings
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America lowered its Aflac price target to $133 but retained a “buy” rating. The higher target remains well above recent trading levels, but the reduction indicates some reassessment of near-term valuation or sector conditions. Bank of America Cuts Aflac Price Target
• Negative Sentiment: Japan Post Holdings continued selling Aflac shares, including transactions totaling 42,000 shares on October 13 and additional sales on October 9 and 12. Each sale represented only about 0.02%–0.08% of its large position and was conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, limiting the immediate fundamental impact. However, the repeated disposals may weigh on sentiment and raise concerns about ongoing insider supply. Aflac Shareholder SEC Filing

About Aflac

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE: AFL) is an insurance company that provides supplemental health and life insurance products to individuals, employers and groups. Its coverage is designed to help policyholders manage expenses that may not be fully covered by major medical insurance, including costs associated with illness, injury and other qualifying events.

The company’s products include accident, cancer, critical illness, hospital indemnity, disability, dental, vision and life insurance. Aflac distributes its policies through workplace benefits programs, independent agents, brokers and other distribution channels.

Founded in 1955 as American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus, Aflac has its headquarters in Columbus, Georgia.