Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Price Target Raised to $98.00

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) had its target price boosted by Barclays from $96.00 to $98.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an underweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

AFL has been the topic of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen started coverage on Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial raised their price target on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Aflac from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.13.

Aflac Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:AFL opened at $103.51 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08. Aflac has a 1 year low of $75.07 and a 1 year high of $115.50. The company has a market cap of $57.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $106.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $104.65.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.47. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Aflac will post 7.27 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.94%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total value of $2,558,529.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Aflac

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AFL. TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 2.1% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 188,370 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,823,000 after purchasing an additional 3,861 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 11.5% in the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 18,037 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,611,000 after purchasing an additional 1,862 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. boosted its position in Aflac by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 35,415 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,163,000 after acquiring an additional 1,772 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC boosted its position in Aflac by 28.8% during the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 11,842 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,058,000 after acquiring an additional 2,647 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its position in Aflac by 7,001.0% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 667,706 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $596,000 after acquiring an additional 658,303 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.