Piper Sandler Cuts Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Price Target to $118.00

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) had its price objective trimmed by Piper Sandler from $122.00 to $118.00 in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on AFL. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com lowered Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.21.

Aflac Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of AFL opened at $103.62 on Friday. Aflac has a 1-year low of $77.01 and a 1-year high of $115.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $104.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $106.87. The company has a market capitalization of $57.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.99.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 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 forecast that Aflac will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is 20.83%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

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.