Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Price Target Lowered to $83.00 at Jefferies Financial Group

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) had its price objective reduced by Jefferies Financial Group from $84.00 to $83.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

AFL has been the subject of several other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Aflac from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $83.46.

Aflac Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:AFL opened at $89.31 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Aflac has a twelve month low of $68.34 and a twelve month high of $91.15. The company has a market cap of $50.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $87.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.82.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.08. Aflac had a net margin of 27.67% and a return on equity of 16.88%. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.55 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Aflac will post 6.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total value of $50,904.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,337,342. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total value of $1,957,403.66. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 61,522 shares in the company, valued at $5,381,329.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total value of $50,904.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 27,550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,337,342. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Aflac

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. raised its position in shares of Aflac by 80.0% in the 1st quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.