Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $120.42 and last traded at $120.1620, with a volume of 831191 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $118.49.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AFL. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings raised Aflac from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Barclays set a $99.00 price objective on Aflac and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.27.

Aflac Price Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $116.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $112.76. The stock has a market cap of $61.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.70%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 12,370 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.54, for a total value of $1,441,599.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 33,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,881,947.40. This represents a 27.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 27,845 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.71, for a total transaction of $3,249,789.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 50,898,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,940,362,767.90. This trade represents a 0.05% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,042,771 shares of company stock worth $120,575,104. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

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

Aflac Company Profile

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.