Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Hits New 12-Month High at $86.20

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $86.20 and last traded at $86.06, with a volume of 72587 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $85.62.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AFL shares. StockNews.com cut Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. UBS Group increased their price objective on Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Evercore ISI cut Aflac from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $76.00 to $78.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Aflac from $61.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.36.

Aflac Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $49.45 billion, a PE ratio of 11.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $81.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.74.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by ($0.22). The company had revenue of $3.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 24.92% and a return on equity of 17.59%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.29 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 30,493 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.91, for a total value of $2,436,695.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 86,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,879,451.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Aflac news, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 30,493 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.91, for a total value of $2,436,695.63. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 86,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,879,451.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total transaction of $239,190.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $445,850.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 46,493 shares of company stock worth $3,765,706 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Studio Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC lifted its position in Aflac by 471.4% in the third quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the period. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

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.