Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Receives $102.86 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have assigned a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $102.86.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th.

Aflac Trading Down 2.1 %

NYSE:AFL opened at $102.04 on Thursday. Aflac has a 52 week low of $78.62 and a 52 week high of $115.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $104.11 and a 200 day moving average of $107.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.63, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.99.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Aflac will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.17%.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The shares were 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 owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Aflac

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AFL. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its position in shares of Aflac by 13.3% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 252,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,206,000 after purchasing an additional 29,602 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Aflac by 70.5% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 46,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,146,000 after purchasing an additional 19,037 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Aflac by 3.0% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 13,187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,474,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 14.0% in the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $647,000 after buying an additional 710 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vicus Capital purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the third quarter worth about $221,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.