Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Price Target Raised to $98.00 at Morgan Stanley

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) had its price target lifted by Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $98.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Aflac from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 28th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $91.69.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL stock opened at $105.21 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $93.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.09. Aflac has a 12 month low of $72.78 and a 12 month high of $105.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.78 billion, a PE ratio of 11.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.95.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.23. Aflac had a net margin of 28.35% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The company had revenue of $5.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.58 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Aflac will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.08%.

Insider Activity at Aflac

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 shares were sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total transaction of $197,880.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,796,552.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ascent Group LLC grew its stake in Aflac by 0.6% during the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 17,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,539,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Aflac by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 21,775 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,945,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP grew its position in shares of Aflac by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 8,337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $745,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 3.7% in the second quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC now owns 3,029 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 21,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,942,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently 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.