BMO Capital Markets Begins Coverage on Aflac (NYSE:AFL)

BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Aflac (NYSE:AFL) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued a market perform rating and a $111.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on AFL. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $107.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.67.

Aflac Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $104.43 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The business’s 50-day moving average is $106.12 and its 200 day moving average is $105.71. Aflac has a 1 year low of $75.07 and a 1 year high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.47. Aflac had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 16.34%. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Aflac will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s payout ratio is presently 30.12%.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at $23,018,701.20. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AFL. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,694,511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $524,846,000 after buying an additional 281,148 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 2,429,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $202,437,000 after purchasing an additional 31,752 shares in the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 2,395,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $247,682,000 after buying an additional 118,720 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp lifted its stake in Aflac by 26.6% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 1,929,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $172,338,000 after purchasing an additional 405,847 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its stake in Aflac by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,662,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $185,869,000 after buying an additional 136,238 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.