Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Price Target Increased to $83.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) had its price target upped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $80.00 to $83.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

AFL has been the subject of several other research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Aflac from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Aflac from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Aflac from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $83.69.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $89.41 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $87.14 and a 200-day moving average of $83.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08. Aflac has a twelve month low of $69.00 and a twelve month high of $91.15. The firm has a market cap of $50.80 billion, a PE ratio of 9.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.95.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.08. Aflac had a net margin of 27.67% and a return on equity of 16.88%. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.55 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Aflac will post 6.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 22.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total value of $1,957,403.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 61,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,381,329.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total value of $50,904.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 27,550 shares in the company, valued at $2,337,342. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total value of $1,957,403.66. Following the transaction, the director now owns 61,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,381,329.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Aflac

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth about $197,820,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 9.0% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,643,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $740,141,000 after buying an additional 794,784 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,208,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,160,465,000 after buying an additional 605,210 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Aflac by 8,861.1% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 449,849 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,113,000 after buying an additional 444,829 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Aflac by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,693,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $139,676,000 after acquiring an additional 348,400 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.