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

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $122.80 and last traded at $121.5140, with a volume of 1653236 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $120.47.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Barclays reduced their target price on Aflac from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.18.

Aflac Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market cap of $61.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $116.54 and its 200 day moving average is $113.06.

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

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th were given a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 27.70%.

Insider Activity

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 86,155 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.24, for a total value of $9,756,192.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,636,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,847,367,651.80. The trade was a 0.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 831,071 shares of company stock valued at $96,874,824. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Aflac

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. DNB Asset Management AS increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 51.3% during the fourth quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 168,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,526,000 after purchasing an additional 56,975 shares in the last quarter. BIP Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Aflac by 348.3% in the 4th quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 55,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,145,000 after buying an additional 43,293 shares in the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 4th quarter worth about $3,743,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Aflac by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,866,471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $206,712,000 after buying an additional 97,766 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dorato Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $20,865,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.