Analysts Set Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Price Target at $82.15

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $82.15.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AFL shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Aflac from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Raymond James raised their target price on Aflac from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Evercore ISI cut shares of Aflac from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $76.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $83.61 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.06 and a current ratio of 0.06. Aflac has a 1 year low of $64.10 and a 1 year high of $86.26. The company’s fifty day moving average is $82.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.78.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.22). The firm had revenue of $3.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 24.92% and a return on equity of 17.59%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.29 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Aflac will post 6.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 30,493 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.91, for a total value of $2,436,695.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 86,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,879,451.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Aflac news, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 30,493 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.91, for a total transaction of $2,436,695.63. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 86,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,879,451.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.62, for a total transaction of $423,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,516,390.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 46,493 shares of company stock worth $3,765,706. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. grew its holdings in Aflac by 80.0% in the first quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Aflac by 471.4% in the third quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Aflac during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.