Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Price Target Raised to $105.00 at Truist Financial

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) had its target price boosted by Truist Financial from $100.00 to $105.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

AFL has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen started coverage on Aflac in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Aflac from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $97.87.

Aflac Price Performance

Aflac stock traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $104.71. 2,823,181 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,237,747. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $110.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $97.68. Aflac has a 12-month low of $75.07 and a 12-month high of $115.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $58.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.77, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.95.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.51% and a net margin of 22.02%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Aflac will post 6.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.12%.

Insider Activity

In other Aflac news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total transaction of $197,880.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,796,552.52. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Aflac by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. XML Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at about $207,000. Austin Asset Management Co Inc purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at about $234,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Aflac by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,929 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $439,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Aflac by 0.7% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,584,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $177,153,000 after purchasing an additional 10,487 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently 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.