Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Price Target Raised to $104.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) had its price objective upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $103.00 to $104.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider's stock.

AFL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays boosted their price target on Aflac from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $102.07.

Aflac Trading Up 1.0 %

AFL stock traded up $1.03 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $103.52. 1,609,955 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,645,704. Aflac has a one year low of $75.07 and a one year high of $115.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.59, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $106.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.02.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 16.34%. The firm's revenue was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Aflac will post 7.27 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This is an increase from Aflac's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac's payout ratio is currently 34.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new position in Aflac in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Aflac by 41.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.