Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Sets New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $120.42 and last traded at $120.1620, with a volume of 831191 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $118.49.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Aflac from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $130.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Evercore raised shares of Aflac from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.27.

Aflac Trading Down 0.1%

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $116.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $112.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.70, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.66 EPS. Aflac’s quarterly revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.09 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were paid a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 166,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.38, for a total transaction of $18,655,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 51,723,100 shares in the company, valued at $5,812,641,978. The trade was a 0.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 1,042,771 shares of company stock worth $120,575,104 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Aflac

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AFL. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Aflac by 42.3% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,526 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $413,000 after acquiring an additional 1,049 shares in the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the first quarter valued at about $305,000. Western Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Aflac by 409.3% during the 1st quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,881 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,303,000 after purchasing an additional 9,548 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 47.2% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 65,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,164,000 after buying an additional 20,939 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DV Trading LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 450.0% in the 1st quarter. DV Trading LLC now owns 2,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Company Profile

Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is a provider of supplemental insurance products designed to help policyholders manage out-of-pocket health care and living expenses. The company underwrites a range of individual and group policies that typically pay cash benefits directly to insureds when covered events occur, enabling greater financial flexibility for medical treatment, hospital stays, critical illness, and related costs. Aflac’s product mix includes supplemental health insurance, life insurance and other specialty coverages intended to complement primary medical plans.

Founded in the mid-20th century and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac distributes its products through a combination of employer-sponsored programs, independent brokers and agents, and direct marketing.