Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Price Target Cut to $133.00 by Analysts at Bank of America

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) had its price objective decreased by Bank of America from $137.00 to $133.00 in a research note released on Monday morning. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $101.00 price target (up from $99.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $138.00 price objective (up from $130.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, August 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Aflac from $117.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Aflac from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $117.00.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL stock opened at $115.83 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.12 and a quick ratio of 0.12. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $116.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $116.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.56. Aflac has a 12 month low of $105.43 and a 12 month high of $130.22.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.01). Aflac had a net margin of 26.91% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The business had revenue of $4.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Aflac will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were given a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 20,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.49, for a total value of $2,369,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 50,667,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,003,614,588.10. This trade represents a 0.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 465,851 shares of company stock worth $54,213,397 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC bought a new position in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $215,000. Perpetual Ltd grew its position in shares of Aflac by 119.3% in the 3rd quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 7,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $886,000 after acquiring an additional 4,312 shares in the last quarter. Decker Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter. Decker Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $398,000 after acquiring an additional 617 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 9,396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,080,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 19,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,171,000 after acquiring an additional 1,219 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Key Aflac News

Here are the key news stories impacting Aflac this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Aflac continues to receive a generally stable sell-side view rather than broad downgrades. Analysts’ “hold” and “equal weight” ratings indicate expectations for relatively steady performance, which may support the stock’s defensive appeal. Aflac Stock Rated Hold by Sell-Side Analysts
• Neutral Sentiment: KBW reaffirmed its “hold” rating on Aflac, signaling no change in its investment view and reinforcing the broader consensus that the shares are fairly valued. KBW Reaffirms Hold Rating
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo lowered its Aflac price target to $116 from $122 and assigned an “equal weight” rating. The revised target implies very limited upside from recent levels, potentially restricting bullish sentiment. Wells Fargo Adjusts Aflac Price Target
• Negative Sentiment: Major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,050 Aflac shares for approximately $1.48 million. Additional reported sales totaling roughly $1.35 million and $1.48 million add to investor concern, although at least one transaction was described as preplanned. Post Holdings Sells Aflac Shares

About Aflac

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE: AFL) is an insurance company that provides supplemental health and life insurance products to individuals, employers and groups. Its coverage is designed to help policyholders manage expenses that may not be fully covered by major medical insurance, including costs associated with illness, injury and other qualifying events.

The company’s products include accident, cancer, critical illness, hospital indemnity, disability, dental, vision and life insurance. Aflac distributes its policies through workplace benefits programs, independent agents, brokers and other distribution channels.

Founded in 1955 as American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus, Aflac has its headquarters in Columbus, Georgia.