Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Price Target Raised to $96.00

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) had its price objective hoisted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $94.00 to $96.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on AFL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.29.

Aflac Stock Down 8.8 %

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $101.94 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $106.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.71. The company has a market capitalization of $55.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81. Aflac has a 52-week low of $79.31 and a 52-week 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.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. As a group, analysts forecast that Aflac will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total value of $107,630.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,733,048.59. The trade was a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total value of $3,197,456.58. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,360,422.98. This trade represents a 37.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Aflac

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Raelipskie Partnership bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. 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.