Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Sets New 1-Year High at $107.75

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $107.75 and last traded at $107.60, with a volume of 116191 shares. The stock had previously closed at $107.34.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Truist Financial increased their price target on Aflac from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America raised their target price on Aflac from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Aflac from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $91.69.

Aflac Stock Up 0.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.27 billion, a PE ratio of 11.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.95. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $95.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.90.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $5.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.58 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at $197,820,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Aflac by 7,001.0% in the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 667,706 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $596,000 after buying an additional 658,303 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in Aflac by 26.6% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 1,929,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $172,338,000 after buying an additional 405,847 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Aflac in the first quarter valued at $27,588,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in Aflac by 196.5% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 484,176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,945,000 after buying an additional 320,867 shares during 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.