Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wells Fargo & Company Analyst Says

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) had its price target increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $103.00 to $104.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Truist Financial raised their target price on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lifted their target price on Aflac from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Aflac from $108.00 to $107.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.07.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $105.90 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $58.83 billion, a PE ratio of 15.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.00. Aflac has a 12 month low of $75.07 and a 12 month high of $115.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $106.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.12.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. The firm’s revenue was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.84 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Aflac will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.58 dividend. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Aflac by 75.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,533,000 after purchasing an additional 333,083 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Aflac by 79.7% in 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 last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $979,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 4.0% during the third 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 last quarter. Finally, Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the third quarter valued at approximately $250,000. Hedge funds and other 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.