Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Price Target Raised to $120.00 at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) had its price objective boosted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $115.00 to $120.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “market perform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target would indicate a potential downside of 1.62% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on AFL. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Evercore raised shares of Aflac from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $108.00 target price (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Friday. Barclays reduced their price target on Aflac from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Mizuho set a $112.00 price target on shares of Aflac in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $114.50.

Aflac Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE AFL opened at $121.98 on Monday. Aflac has a 12 month low of $96.95 and a 12 month high of $122.80. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $116.91 and a 200-day moving average of $113.30. The company has a market cap of $62.08 billion, a PE ratio of 13.85, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.61.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. Aflac’s quarterly revenue was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Aflac will post 7.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total transaction of $7,441,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 51,169,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,044,133,662.20. This trade represents a 0.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 744,916 shares of company stock worth $87,118,632. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stephens Inc. AR increased its stake in Aflac by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 21,945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,420,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. boosted its stake in Aflac by 0.7% in the first quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 13,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,508,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its position in Aflac by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $234,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 19,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,105,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $902,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Company Profile

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.