Brokerages Set Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) PT at $104.00

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have issued a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $104.21.

AFL has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays raised their target price on Aflac from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th.

Aflac Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:AFL opened at $105.91 on Tuesday. Aflac has a 1 year low of $85.50 and a 1 year high of $115.50. The business has a fifty day moving average of $107.21 and a 200-day moving average of $106.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market cap of $57.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.03, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.84.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by ($0.01). Aflac had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. The company had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 37.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Aflac will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 21st. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total value of $3,197,456.58. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,360,422.98. This represents a 37.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total value of $107,630.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 25,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,733,048.59. The trade was a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth about $349,699,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth approximately $163,409,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Aflac by 12,313.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,504,067 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $167,237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,491,951 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Aflac by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,296,014 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $754,700,000 after purchasing an additional 1,357,753 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 81.1% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,753,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $285,181,000 after buying an additional 1,232,683 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

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.