Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $119.95 and last traded at $119.8560, with a volume of 158868 shares. The stock had previously closed at $117.75.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho set a $104.00 target price on Aflac in a research report on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Piper Sandler restated 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, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $112.27.

Aflac Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $60.12 billion, a PE ratio of 13.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $115.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $112.39.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.66 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were issued a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac’s payout ratio is presently 27.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 12,370 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.54, for a total transaction of $1,441,599.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 33,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,881,947.40. This represents a 27.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 27,845 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.71, for a total value of $3,249,789.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 50,898,490 shares in the company, valued at $5,940,362,767.90. This trade represents a 0.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,082,471 shares of company stock valued at $124,943,184. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Aflac by 64.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 5,708 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC increased its position in Aflac by 4.3% during the 4th 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 purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $280,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 11.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 150,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,854,000 after buying an additional 15,105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 192 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.