Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Sell”

StockNews.com lowered shares of Aflac (NYSE:AFL) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Thursday.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on AFL. Barclays lifted their target price on Aflac from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.71.

Aflac Trading Down 3.9 %

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $103.08 on Thursday. Aflac has a 52-week low of $77.01 and a 52-week high of $115.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.52, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $105.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $106.74.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 16.34%. Analysts expect that Aflac will post 7.26 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a $0.58 dividend. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. Aflac’s payout ratio is presently 24.17%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total transaction of $2,558,529.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,018,701.20. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Aflac

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at $287,000. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Aflac by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC now owns 36,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,798,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth about $163,409,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $559,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $192,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.