Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Given New $117.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) had its target price boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $108.00 to $117.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on AFL. Wall Street Zen raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $115.50.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $123.34 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $118.14 and its 200-day moving average is $113.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.78 billion, a PE ratio of 14.00, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.61. Aflac has a fifty-two week low of $96.95 and a fifty-two week high of $125.93.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.66 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Aflac will post 7.07 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th were paid a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total transaction of $7,441,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 51,169,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,044,133,662.20. The trade was a 0.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 744,916 shares of company stock worth $87,118,632 over the last three months. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. DNB Asset Management AS grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 51.3% in the fourth quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 168,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,526,000 after purchasing an additional 56,975 shares during the last quarter. BIP Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Aflac by 348.3% in the fourth quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 55,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,145,000 after acquiring an additional 43,293 shares during the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,743,000. Dorato Capital Management acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $20,865,000. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in Aflac by 77.3% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 63,646 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,018,000 after purchasing an additional 27,751 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.