Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac (NYSE:AFL) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on AFL. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Aflac from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Aflac from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut Aflac from an in-line rating to an underperform rating and increased their price target for the stock from $76.00 to $78.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $82.31.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL stock opened at $83.21 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $47.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.18, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $83.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.06 and a current ratio of 0.08. Aflac has a 52-week low of $64.10 and a 52-week high of $86.26.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.08. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.88% and a net margin of 27.67%. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.55 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Aflac will post 6.43 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be given a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.08%.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other news, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total value of $239,190.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,592 shares in the company, valued at $445,850.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 3,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total transaction of $239,190.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,592 shares in the company, valued at $445,850.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Albert Riggieri sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.34, for a total value of $666,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 32,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,735,635.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 46,493 shares of company stock valued at $3,765,706 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SVB Wealth LLC increased its position in Aflac by 1.4% in the third quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 10,370 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $796,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC increased its holdings in Aflac by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 3,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $257,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. raised its stake in Aflac by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 279,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,482,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden lifted its holdings in Aflac by 16.1% during the third quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 144,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,067,000 after purchasing an additional 20,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE boosted its position in Aflac by 8.6% during the third quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE now owns 11,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $875,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Aflac

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.