Mizuho Begins Coverage on Aflac (NYSE:AFL)

Mizuho started coverage on shares of Aflac (NYSE:AFL) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm set an “underperform” rating and a $104.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. Mizuho’s target price would indicate a potential downside of 5.93% from the company’s current price.

AFL has been the subject of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Aflac from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Aflac from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, December 8th. Piper Sandler set a $125.00 target price on Aflac and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $120.00 target price on Aflac in a research report on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $110.55.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL opened at $110.55 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $109.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.75. Aflac has a 1 year low of $96.95 and a 1 year high of $115.83. The stock has a market cap of $57.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter. Aflac had a net margin of 23.55% and a return on equity of 14.97%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter. Equities research analysts anticipate that Aflac will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 15,862 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total transaction of $1,776,544.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 230,688 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,837,056. This represents a 6.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Frederic Jean Guy Simard sold 1,722 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total transaction of $193,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 1,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $153,450. This trade represents a 55.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 31,766 shares of company stock valued at $3,549,706 in the last 90 days. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 188.5% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Aflac by 1,526.7% during the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the period. Finally, Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in Aflac in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 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.