Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Price Target Lowered to $102.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) had its price objective lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $104.00 to $102.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

AFL has been the subject of several other reports. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Aflac in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays decreased their price target on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.86.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL stock opened at $104.53 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $58.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.89, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.99. Aflac has a twelve month low of $78.38 and a twelve month high of $115.50. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac will post 6.9 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.83%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the firm’s 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 $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Company Profile

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.