Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Coverage Initiated at Mizuho

Equities research analysts at Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Aflac (NYSE:AFL) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage set an “underperform” rating and a $104.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. Mizuho’s target price suggests a potential downside of 6.78% from the company’s current price.

AFL has been the topic of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, December 8th. Piper Sandler set a $125.00 target price on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Aflac from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $110.55.

Aflac Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $111.56 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.66. Aflac has a 52-week low of $96.95 and a 52-week high of $115.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $109.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $106.68.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Aflac had a net margin of 23.55% and a return on equity of 14.97%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Aflac will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 15,862 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total transaction of $1,776,544.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 230,688 shares in the company, valued at $25,837,056. This trade represents a 6.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steven Kent Beaver sold 3,452 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.26, for a total value of $377,165.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 43,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,792,143.60. The trade was a 7.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 26,274 shares of company stock valued at $2,948,167. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Aflac

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.8% during the third quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 11,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,321,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Courier Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 2,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC now owns 2,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its position in Aflac by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 2,037 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Finally, Stiles Financial Services Inc raised its position in Aflac by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 3,169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $354,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. 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.