Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock Price

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) had its price objective lowered by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $122.00 to $116.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target would suggest a potential downside of 0.39% from the company’s current price.

AFL has been the subject of several other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Aflac from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $108.00 target price (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Friday, July 10th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $125.00 target price (up from $124.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $107.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $117.00.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL stock opened at $116.46 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $116.77 and a 200-day moving average of $117.03. Aflac has a 12-month low of $105.43 and a 12-month high of $130.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $58.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.33, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.56.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $4.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.11 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 26.91%. Aflac’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Aflac will post 7.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.49, for a total transaction of $2,369,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 50,667,690 shares in the company, valued at $6,003,614,588.10. The trade was a 0.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 478,851 shares of company stock worth $55,701,247 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,093,787,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Aflac by 27.8% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,201,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $609,843,000 after acquiring an additional 1,132,091 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,550,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $499,216,000 after acquiring an additional 67,650 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $404,639,000. Finally, Amundi raised its position in shares of Aflac by 22.6% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 3,268,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $358,555,000 after acquiring an additional 603,426 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

More Aflac News

Here are the key news stories impacting Aflac this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America maintained a “buy” rating while lowering its price target from $137 to $133, implying meaningful upside from recent levels and providing the strongest positive analyst signal.
• Positive Sentiment: Aflac’s 16th annual WorkForces Report highlighted persistent employee financial vulnerability and growing use of benefits education, including artificial intelligence. These trends could support long-term demand for supplemental insurance products. Aflac WorkForces Report
• Neutral Sentiment: KBW reaffirmed its “hold” rating, while broader sell-side coverage continues to characterize Aflac as fairly valued rather than a strong near-term buying opportunity. KBW Hold Rating
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo cut its price target from $122 to $116 and retained an “equal weight” rating. The new target is close to the recent trading price, suggesting limited upside in the near term. Wells Fargo Aflac Price Target
• Negative Sentiment: Major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,000 Aflac shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The sale was only 0.03% of its position, so it is unlikely to materially affect the investment case, but it adds a modest insider-selling signal.

About Aflac

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE: AFL) is an insurance company that provides supplemental health and life insurance products to individuals, employers and groups. Its coverage is designed to help policyholders manage expenses that may not be fully covered by major medical insurance, including costs associated with illness, injury and other qualifying events.

The company’s products include accident, cancer, critical illness, hospital indemnity, disability, dental, vision and life insurance. Aflac distributes its policies through workplace benefits programs, independent agents, brokers and other distribution channels.

Founded in 1955 as American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus, Aflac has its headquarters in Columbus, Georgia.