Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Price Target Increased to $100.00 by Analysts at Truist Financial

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) had its price objective hoisted by Truist Financial from $82.00 to $100.00 in a report issued on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $88.08.

Aflac Stock Down 2.1 %

NYSE:AFL opened at $97.17 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $90.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.10. Aflac has a fifty-two week low of $72.78 and a fifty-two week high of $104.90.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $5.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 28.35% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.58 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.08%.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total value of $1,957,403.66. Following the transaction, the director now owns 61,522 shares in the company, valued at $5,381,329.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total transaction of $50,904.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 27,550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,337,342. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total value of $1,957,403.66. Following the transaction, the director now owns 61,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,381,329.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at about $197,820,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Aflac by 8,861.1% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 449,849 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,113,000 after purchasing an additional 444,829 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,588,000. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in shares of Aflac by 196.5% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 484,176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,945,000 after purchasing an additional 320,867 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in Aflac by 161.0% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 311,239 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,723,000 after buying an additional 191,975 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Aflac

Aflac Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, provides supplemental health and life insurance products. The company operates through Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S. segments. The Aflac Japan segment offers cancer, medical, nursing care, work leave, GIFT, and whole and term life insurance products, as well as WAYS and child endowment plans under saving type insurance products in Japan.