Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Upgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac (NYSE:AFL) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on AFL. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $61.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a sell rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Aflac from $83.00 to $81.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $82.31.

Aflac Trading Up 1.8 %

AFL stock opened at $84.73 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Aflac has a 52-week low of $64.10 and a 52-week high of $86.26. The firm has a market cap of $48.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.35, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.91.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.08. Aflac had a net margin of 27.67% and a return on equity of 16.88%. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.55 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Aflac will post 6.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.08%.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In related news, SVP Albert Riggieri sold 8,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.34, for a total value of $666,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 32,825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,735,635.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Aflac news, SVP Albert Riggieri sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.34, for a total value of $666,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 32,825 shares in the company, valued at $2,735,635.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 5,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.62, for a total transaction of $423,100.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,516,390.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 46,493 shares of company stock worth $3,765,706 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 80.0% in the 1st 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 last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.