Truist Financial Boosts Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Price Target to $82.00

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) had its target price boosted by Truist Financial from $80.00 to $82.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on AFL. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Aflac from $61.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of Aflac from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Aflac from $83.00 to $81.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price objective on Aflac from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $82.31.

Aflac Trading Down 1.0 %

AFL stock opened at $83.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.06. Aflac has a 1-year low of $64.10 and a 1-year high of $86.26. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.90. The company has a market capitalization of $47.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.18, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.91.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.09 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 27.67% and a return on equity of 16.88%. Aflac’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.55 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Aflac will post 6.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.62, for a total value of $423,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,516,390.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 5,592 shares in the company, valued at $445,850.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 5,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.62, for a total value of $423,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,516,390.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 46,493 shares of company stock worth $3,765,706. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,558,000. abrdn plc grew its position in shares of Aflac by 51.2% in the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 298,226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,604,000 after buying an additional 100,937 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 353.3% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 14,754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,217,000 after acquiring an additional 11,499 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Aflac by 25.9% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,693,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $139,676,000 after acquiring an additional 348,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, G&S Capital LLC boosted its stake in Aflac by 65.1% in the fourth quarter. G&S Capital LLC now owns 31,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,626,000 after acquiring an additional 12,551 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

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.