Wells Fargo & Company Boosts Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Price Target to $104.00

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) had its price objective hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $103.00 to $104.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 0.83% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Aflac in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays upped their target price on Aflac from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.07.

Aflac Stock Up 0.6 %

AFL traded up $0.65 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $103.14. 160,202 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,458,123. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.53, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $106.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $105.02. Aflac has a 12-month low of $75.07 and a 12-month high of $115.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 16.34%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Aflac will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 6.8% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 8,092 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $723,000 after buying an additional 513 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Aflac by 27.6% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,243,189 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $111,029,000 after purchasing an additional 268,694 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 3,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 2.5% during the second quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 9,837 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $879,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 6.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,807,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $429,319,000 after purchasing an additional 285,576 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

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.