Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Reaches New 12-Month High at $95.88

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $95.88 and last traded at $95.84, with a volume of 61044 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $94.54.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Aflac from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.69.

Aflac Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $90.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $85.47. The firm has a market cap of $57.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $5.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.10 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 27.67% and a return on equity of 16.88%. Aflac’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.58 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.44 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.08%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total transaction of $50,904.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 27,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,337,342. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total transaction of $50,904.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 27,550 shares in the company, valued at $2,337,342. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total value of $1,957,403.66. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 61,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,381,329.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at about $197,820,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 8,861.1% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 449,849 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,113,000 after purchasing an additional 444,829 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at $27,588,000. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its holdings in Aflac by 196.5% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 484,176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,945,000 after purchasing an additional 320,867 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in Aflac by 161.0% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 311,239 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,723,000 after buying an additional 191,975 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is 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.