Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Hits New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $127.01 and last traded at $127.01, with a volume of 17945 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $125.60.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Aflac from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Evercore upgraded Aflac from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Mizuho set a $112.00 target price on Aflac in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (up from $101.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $116.17.

Aflac Stock Up 1.1%

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $118.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $114.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. The company has a market capitalization of $64.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.61.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.66 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total value of $7,441,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 51,169,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,044,133,662.20. This represents a 0.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 744,916 shares of company stock worth $87,118,632 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the first quarter worth $25,000. Groupe la Francaise bought a new stake in Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Aflac

Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is a provider of supplemental insurance products designed to help policyholders manage out-of-pocket health care and living expenses. The company underwrites a range of individual and group policies that typically pay cash benefits directly to insureds when covered events occur, enabling greater financial flexibility for medical treatment, hospital stays, critical illness, and related costs. Aflac’s product mix includes supplemental health insurance, life insurance and other specialty coverages intended to complement primary medical plans.

Founded in the mid-20th century and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac distributes its products through a combination of employer-sponsored programs, independent brokers and agents, and direct marketing.