Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Price Target Raised to $117.00

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) had its price objective upped by analysts at Mizuho from $112.00 to $117.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “underperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Mizuho‘s target price indicates a potential downside of 7.88% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on AFL. Bank of America cut their price target on Aflac from $137.00 to $133.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 12th. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on Aflac from $119.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $103.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 7th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price target (up from $101.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $118.20.

Aflac Trading Up 0.3%

AFL stock opened at $127.01 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $118.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $116.48. Aflac has a fifty-two week low of $105.76 and a fifty-two week high of $131.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.63. The firm had revenue of $4.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 12.82% and a net margin of 21.24%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 31.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.49 EPS. Analysts expect that Aflac will post 7.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 113,611 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.53, for a total transaction of $13,466,311.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 50,134,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,942,422,016.37. This represents a 0.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 700,062 shares of company stock valued at $81,675,348 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Aflac during the second quarter worth about $4,093,787,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 27.8% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,201,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $609,843,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132,091 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,550,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $499,216,000 after buying an additional 67,650 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $404,639,000. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 22.6% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 3,268,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $358,555,000 after buying an additional 603,426 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Company Profile

Aflac Incorporated is an insurance company that provides supplemental health and life insurance to individuals and businesses. Its products are designed to help customers manage expenses that may not be covered by major medical insurance, including costs associated with accidents, cancer, critical illness and hospital stays. The company operates primarily in the United States and Japan. In the U.S., Aflac offers workplace benefits such as accident, disability, dental, vision and life insurance. In Japan, it provides products including cancer, medical and life insurance.