Brokerages Set Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Target Price at $102.86

Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have assigned a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $102.86.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AFL. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,018,701.20. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Aflac

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its position in Aflac by 13.3% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 252,137 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,206,000 after buying an additional 29,602 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Aflac by 70.5% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 46,033 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,146,000 after buying an additional 19,037 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its position in Aflac by 3.0% during the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 13,187 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,474,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Aflac by 14.0% during the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,783 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $647,000 after buying an additional 710 shares during the period. Finally, Vicus Capital purchased a new stake in Aflac during the third quarter valued at about $221,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of AFL stock traded down $1.97 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $102.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,050,365 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,791,105. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $104.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.26. Aflac has a 52 week low of $78.62 and a 52 week high of $115.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.10. The company has a market cap of $56.83 billion, a PE ratio of 10.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.99.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) 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 return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Aflac will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a boost from Aflac's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.17%.

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.