Aflac (NYSE:AFL) PT Raised to $82.00 at Truist Financial

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) had its target price raised by Truist Financial from $80.00 to $82.00 in a report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

AFL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Aflac from $83.00 to $81.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Raymond James boosted their target price on Aflac from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Aflac from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $61.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $82.31.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL stock opened at $83.21 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $47.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.06 and a current ratio of 0.08. Aflac has a one year low of $64.10 and a one year high of $86.26. The company’s 50-day moving average is $83.08 and its 200 day moving average is $81.87.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.09 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 27.67% and a return on equity of 16.88%. The business’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Aflac will post 6.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 21st. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. Aflac’s payout ratio is 22.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total transaction of $239,190.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $445,850.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total value of $239,190.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,592 shares in the company, valued at $445,850.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 30,493 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.91, for a total value of $2,436,695.63. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 86,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,879,451.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 46,493 shares of company stock valued at $3,765,706. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 80.0% during the first quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

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.