Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Price Target Cut to $118.00 by Analysts at Piper Sandler

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) had its price target trimmed by Piper Sandler from $122.00 to $118.00 in a research note released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

AFL has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Aflac from $108.00 to $107.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com lowered Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.21.

Aflac Price Performance

NYSE AFL opened at $103.62 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $104.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $106.72. Aflac has a twelve month low of $77.01 and a twelve month high of $115.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.56 billion, a PE ratio of 15.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. Research analysts anticipate that Aflac will post 7.26 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total value of $2,558,529.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Aflac

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth about $163,409,000. Amundi lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 81.1% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,753,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $285,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,232,683 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 10,878.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 559,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,597,000 after purchasing an additional 554,803 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 471.4% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 600,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $67,080,000 after purchasing an additional 495,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 670.9% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 556,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,572,000 after purchasing an additional 484,378 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently 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.