Aflac (NYSE:AFL) PT Raised to $124.00 at Bank of America

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) had its target price increased by Bank of America from $115.00 to $124.00 in a report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on AFL. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays started coverage on Aflac in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an underweight rating and a $96.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Aflac from $90.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Aflac from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Aflac from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $97.53.

Aflac Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $113.26 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.10 and a current ratio of 0.10. Aflac has a 52 week low of $75.07 and a 52 week high of $115.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $107.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.36 billion, a PE ratio of 12.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.95.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $1.58 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac will post 6.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Aflac’s payout ratio is 22.08%.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total transaction of $197,880.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,796,552.52. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Aflac

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at $862,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in Aflac by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 15,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,139 shares during the last quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,041,000. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Aflac by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,488 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,396,000 after acquiring an additional 905 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth about $998,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently 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.