Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Receives $112.27 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation, three have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $112.2727.

A number of research firms recently commented on AFL. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Mizuho set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, May 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th.

Key Stories Impacting Aflac

Here are the key news stories impacting Aflac this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Aflac continues to be viewed as a dependable income stock, supported by 44 consecutive years of dividend growth and a recently paid quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share. The “Duck Stock” Keeps Quietly Making Money for Shareholders
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive enough to keep Aflac on the radar as a stable insurance name, with recent commentary highlighting reliable returns from dividends, buybacks, and supplemental insurance growth. 3 Insurance Stocks Hitting 52-Week Highs With More Room to Run
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent market coverage describes Aflac as a steady, low-volatility insurer, but also suggests the stock’s quality may already be fairly priced in, limiting near-term upside. 4 Stocks Making New Highs Despite Market Weakness
• Negative Sentiment: Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan has continued trimming its Aflac stake through a series of insider sales in June, which may create some investor concern even though the trades were disclosed under a 10b5-1 plan. SEC Filing

Aflac Stock Up 1.0%

AFL stock opened at $117.56 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $59.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.61. Aflac has a 52 week low of $96.95 and a 52 week high of $119.81. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $114.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $111.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.66 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Aflac will post 7.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th were issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 27.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 26,500 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.00, for a total transaction of $3,100,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 51,116,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,980,599,495. The trade was a 0.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 936,356 shares of company stock worth $107,019,534 over the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Aflac by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,142,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,301,056,000 after acquiring an additional 6,759,169 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Aflac by 1.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,550,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $499,216,000 after acquiring an additional 67,650 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Aflac by 0.3% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,926,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $438,621,000 after acquiring an additional 13,666 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $420,078,000. Finally, Amundi raised its position in Aflac by 22.6% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 3,268,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $358,555,000 after acquiring an additional 603,426 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

About Aflac

Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is a provider of supplemental insurance products designed to help policyholders manage out-of-pocket health care and living expenses. The company underwrites a range of individual and group policies that typically pay cash benefits directly to insureds when covered events occur, enabling greater financial flexibility for medical treatment, hospital stays, critical illness, and related costs. Aflac’s product mix includes supplemental health insurance, life insurance and other specialty coverages intended to complement primary medical plans.

Founded in the mid-20th century and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac distributes its products through a combination of employer-sponsored programs, independent brokers and agents, and direct marketing.