Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac (NYSE:AFL) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Friday.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.00.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL stock opened at $103.46 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $104.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.02. Aflac has a 12 month low of $78.38 and a 12 month high of $115.50. 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 firm has a market cap of $57.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.99.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Aflac will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.17%.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Aflac by 75.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,533,000 after purchasing an additional 333,083 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Aflac by 79.7% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 27,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,058,000 after buying an additional 12,131 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at $979,000. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,202,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $134,395,000 after acquiring an additional 45,745 shares during the period. Finally, Willis Investment Counsel boosted its stake in Aflac by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 273,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,287,000 after acquiring an additional 3,357 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.