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

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) had its price target lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $104.00 to $102.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider's stock.

AFL has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Barclays reduced their price target on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Aflac in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $111.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial raised their target price on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $102.86.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL traded down $2.24 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $102.04. 3,402,709 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,797,868. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.10. Aflac has a 52 week low of $78.62 and a 52 week high of $115.50. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $104.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.26.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. Sell-side analysts predict that Aflac will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. This is an increase from Aflac's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.17%.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related 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 transaction of $2,558,529.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth $93,000. Aurdan Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth $1,096,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in Aflac by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 69,561 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,195,000 after purchasing an additional 9,650 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP raised its position in Aflac by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 8,831 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $913,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank raised its position in Aflac by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 271,844 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,120,000 after purchasing an additional 2,271 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.