Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock Gets Price Target Trim from Wells Fargo & Company

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) had its price objective lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $122.00 to $116.00 in a research note released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on AFL. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $125.00 target price (up from $124.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings raised Aflac from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Aflac from $117.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Aflac from $116.00 to $107.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $103.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $117.00.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL stock opened at $118.09 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 has a 50 day moving average price of $116.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $117.10. Aflac has a fifty-two week low of $105.43 and a fifty-two week high of $130.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.20 billion, a PE ratio of 12.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.56.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $4.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 26.91%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. Analysts forecast that Aflac will post 7.04 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.49, for a total value of $2,369,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 50,667,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,003,614,588.10. This trade represents a 0.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 503,051 shares of company stock valued at $58,491,257 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Aflac

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 347.8% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares during the last quarter. Columbus Macro LLC increased its holdings in Aflac by 1.1% in the third quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 72,528 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,107,000 after purchasing an additional 806 shares during the period. Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. raised its position in Aflac by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. now owns 42,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,751,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Aflac by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 28,069 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,138,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lodestone Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Aflac by 28.2% during the 3rd quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $164,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the period. 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: AM Best affirmed the credit ratings of Aflac and its subsidiaries, reinforcing confidence in the insurer’s financial strength and ability to meet policyholder obligations. AM Best Affirms Aflac Credit Ratings
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America maintained a Buy rating while lowering its price target from $137 to $133. The revised target still indicates meaningful potential upside from recent trading levels. Bank of America Aflac Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Aflac’s latest WorkForces Report found continued employee financial vulnerability and rising interest in benefits education, including use of artificial intelligence. Those trends could support long-term demand for supplemental insurance products. Aflac WorkForces Report
• Neutral Sentiment: Japan Post Holdings sold additional Aflac shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The reported transactions reduced its ownership by only about 0.02%–0.03% each, limiting their immediate impact, although repeated sales may attract investor attention.
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo cut its Aflac price target from $122 to $116 and retained an Equal Weight rating, signaling limited near-term upside at recent levels. Wells Fargo Aflac Price Target

Aflac Company Profile

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.