Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock Price

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) had its target price increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $111.00 to $120.00 in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on AFL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Aflac from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Mizuho set a $112.00 price target on shares of Aflac in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $114.64.

Aflac Price Performance

NYSE:AFL opened at $121.88 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $116.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $113.21. Aflac has a 12 month low of $96.95 and a 12 month high of $122.80. The firm has a market cap of $62.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Aflac will post 7.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Aflac’s payout ratio is 27.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total value of $7,441,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 51,169,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,044,133,662.20. This represents a 0.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 744,916 shares of company stock valued at $87,118,632. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Groupe la Francaise purchased a new position in Aflac during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Evergreen Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Aflac

Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is a provider of supplemental insurance products designed to help policyholders manage out-of-pocket health care and living expenses. The company underwrites a range of individual and group policies that typically pay cash benefits directly to insureds when covered events occur, enabling greater financial flexibility for medical treatment, hospital stays, critical illness, and related costs. Aflac’s product mix includes supplemental health insurance, life insurance and other specialty coverages intended to complement primary medical plans.

Founded in the mid-20th century and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac distributes its products through a combination of employer-sponsored programs, independent brokers and agents, and direct marketing.