Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock Price

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) had its target price decreased by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $118.00 to $116.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 4.67% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Aflac to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “hold” rating and set a $113.00 price target on shares of Aflac in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Barclays set a $101.00 price target on Aflac and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $119.00 price target (up from $110.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.27.

Aflac Trading Down 2.0%

AFL opened at $110.82 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $111.44 and its 200-day moving average is $110.53. Aflac has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $119.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $57.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.11, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.66.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.12). Aflac had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 14.35%. The company had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.57 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Aflac will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 166,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.38, for a total transaction of $18,655,080.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,723,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,812,641,978. The trade was a 0.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 486,477 shares of company stock worth $53,758,442. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Aflac

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. BIP Wealth LLC grew its stake in Aflac by 348.3% during the fourth quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 55,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,145,000 after purchasing an additional 43,293 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in Aflac by 10.4% during the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,731,482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $193,407,000 after purchasing an additional 163,791 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its stake in Aflac by 126.1% during the third quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 21,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,384,000 after purchasing an additional 11,903 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Aflac by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,866,471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $206,712,000 after purchasing an additional 97,766 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in Aflac by 12.0% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 97,344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,841,000 after purchasing an additional 10,423 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Aflac

Here are the key news stories impacting Aflac this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Evercore upgraded AFL from “strong sell” to “strong buy” — a bullish broker action that can attract buyers and support the stock. Zacks Coverage of Evercore Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target to $115 and kept a “market perform” rating—small incremental upside from current levels that may steady sentiment. Benzinga on KBW PT Raise
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo trimmed its target to $116 but kept an “equal weight” view — a mild model update rather than a clear buy/sell signal. Benzinga on Wells Fargo PT Change
• Neutral Sentiment: Market/valuation discussion and pre‑earnings writeups (Yahoo Finance piece) are highlighting Aflac’s multi‑year run vs. mixed valuation signals — useful context but not an immediate catalyst. Yahoo Finance Valuation Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Small Q1 lobbying disclosure ($62k) was reported — routine regulatory transparency, unlikely to move fundamentals. Quiver Quant Lobbying Update
• Negative Sentiment: UBS cut its price target to $114 and moved to a Neutral rating — a downgrade that likely pressured sentiment and contributed to selling. AmericanBankingNews on UBS PT Cut
• Negative Sentiment: Post Holdings Co., Ltd. Japan (a >10% holder) has executed a string of disclosed share sales under a Rule 10b5‑1 plan (multiple blocks at ~\$109–\$112). The cadence of these sales, while planned and small versus its total stake, is weighing on market sentiment. SEC Filing (Post Holdings Sales)

About Aflac

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.