Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Receives $112.00 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $112.00.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AFL shares. Barclays set a $101.00 price objective on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Mizuho set a $107.00 price target on Aflac in a report on Monday, February 9th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $119.00 price target (up from $110.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, December 22nd.

Aflac Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE AFL opened at $110.51 on Friday. Aflac has a 12 month low of $96.95 and a 12 month high of $119.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $111.18 and a 200-day moving average of $110.38. The company has a market cap of $56.93 billion, a PE ratio of 16.06, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.66.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.12). Aflac had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 21.24%.The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.57 earnings per share. Aflac’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Aflac will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 15,590 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.93, for a total transaction of $1,713,808.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 62,237 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,841,713.41. This trade represents a 20.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 14,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.03, for a total transaction of $1,519,826.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 52,018,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,567,550,758. This represents a 0.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 235,077 shares of company stock valued at $25,690,082 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Aflac by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,142,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,301,056,000 after purchasing an additional 6,759,169 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Aflac by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,483,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $494,385,000 after buying an additional 69,025 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Aflac by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,167,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $439,545,000 after buying an additional 594,971 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the second quarter worth $432,201,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 0.3% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,926,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $438,621,000 after buying an additional 13,666 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.