Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Reaches New 1-Year High at $111.31

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $111.31 and last traded at $111.12, with a volume of 314401 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $110.59.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AFL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays started coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Aflac from $84.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.93.

Aflac Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.10 and a current ratio of 0.10. The company has a market cap of $64.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.95. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $105.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $93.38.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.23. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 28.35%. The firm had revenue of $5.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.58 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. Aflac’s payout ratio is 22.08%.

Insider Activity

In other Aflac news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total transaction of $197,880.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,796,552.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 22.6% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 86,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,096,000 after buying an additional 15,855 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,806,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $155,140,000 after acquiring an additional 113,226 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 6.4% in the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 98,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,800,000 after purchasing an additional 5,912 shares during the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 4,988 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 896 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 3.3% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 718,067 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,653,000 after purchasing an additional 22,637 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

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.