JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Price Target to $116.00

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) had its price target cut by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $117.00 to $116.00 in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on AFL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $138.00 price objective (up from $130.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $108.00 target price (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Aflac from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $117.58.

Aflac Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of AFL stock opened at $121.09 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $121.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $115.78. Aflac has a twelve month low of $104.66 and a twelve month high of $130.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.12. The company has a market capitalization of $60.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.98, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.60.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $4.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 26.91% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Aflac will post 7.04 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total value of $7,441,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,169,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,044,133,662.20. This trade represents a 0.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 620,033 shares of company stock valued at $72,650,201 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 64.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,507,000 after acquiring an additional 5,708 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Aflac by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $455,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in Aflac during the second quarter valued at approximately $280,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 150,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,854,000 after purchasing an additional 15,105 shares during the period. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 11,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,261,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

About Aflac

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.