Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Price Target Raised to $105.00

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) had its price target raised by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target points to a potential downside of 1.68% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.57.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL stock traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $106.80. 331,718 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,106,410. The company has a market cap of $57.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.14, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.84. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $107.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.47. Aflac has a 1-year low of $86.46 and a 1-year high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.53 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. Aflac’s quarterly revenue was down 37.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.66 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Aflac will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.79, for a total value of $106,790.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 26,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,786,791.84. This represents a 3.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total value of $3,197,456.58. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 49,962 shares in the company, valued at $5,360,422.98. This trade represents a 37.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 31,802 shares of company stock valued at $3,411,877 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AFL. NorthRock Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 6,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $725,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 24.4% in the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 7,643 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $791,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 6,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $662,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Aflac by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 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.