Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Upgraded at Mizuho

Mizuho upgraded shares of Aflac (NYSE:AFL) to a strong sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on AFL. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $104.00 target price (up from $102.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $110.55.

Aflac Trading Up 1.0%

AFL opened at $110.55 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.66. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $109.90 and its 200-day moving average is $106.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Aflac has a 52-week low of $96.95 and a 52-week high of $115.83.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter. Aflac had a net margin of 23.55% and a return on equity of 14.97%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter. Analysts expect that Aflac will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, EVP Frederic Jean Guy Simard sold 1,722 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total transaction of $193,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $153,450. This represents a 55.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 15,862 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total value of $1,776,544.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 230,688 shares in the company, valued at $25,837,056. The trade was a 6.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 31,766 shares of company stock worth $3,549,706 in the last quarter. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs acquired a new position in Aflac during the first quarter worth $2,070,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at about $551,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 14.5% in the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 222,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,485,000 after acquiring an additional 28,190 shares in the last quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its holdings in Aflac by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 140,874 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,857,000 after purchasing an additional 6,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Aflac by 16.7% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,167,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $439,545,000 after purchasing an additional 594,971 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is 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.