Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Price Target to $116.00

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company cut Aflac's price target to $116 (from $118) and maintained an "equal weight" rating, implying roughly a 4.13% upside from the recent share price.
• Missed earnings: Aflac reported $1.57 EPS vs. $1.69 expected and $4.28B revenue vs. $4.45B expected (revenue down 9.6% YoY), and shares traded about 1.5% lower at $111.40; consensus analyst rating is "Hold" with an average target of $112.09.
• Insider selling and institutional activity: Post Holdings Japan sold 24,200 shares under a Rule 10b5‑1 plan and insiders have disposed of ~320,477 shares (~$35.1M) in the past 90 days, even as institutional ownership remains high at ~67.4% with sizeable buys by Vanguard, Norges Bank and others.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) had its price objective lowered by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $118.00 to $116.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "equal weight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target points to a potential upside of 4.13% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on AFL. Mizuho set a $107.00 price target on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, February 9th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $112.09.

Aflac Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE AFL traded down $1.67 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $111.40. The company had a trading volume of 162,519 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,333,760. The business's 50-day moving average is $111.45 and its 200-day moving average is $110.49. 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 stock has a market cap of $57.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.66. Aflac has a 52 week low of $96.95 and a 52 week high of $119.32.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 24,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.45, for a total value of $2,672,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 51,889,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,731,151,095. This represents a 0.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 320,477 shares of company stock valued at $35,103,362 over the last ninety days. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Aflac

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,142,072 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,301,056,000 after buying an additional 6,759,169 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at about $420,078,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 1,184.5% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,264,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $141,199,000 after buying an additional 1,165,676 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 390.7% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,111,711 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $122,588,000 after buying an additional 885,141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 132.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,227,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $137,078,000 after buying an additional 699,080 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Aflac

Here are the key news stories impacting Aflac this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Evercore upgraded Aflac from a sell‑type stance to a strong‑buy, sparking buying interest and headline momentum that helped lift the shares. Zacks — Evercore Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat/InsiderTrades noted intraday strength (stock trading up), reflecting short‑term buying that can amplify positive analyst news. MarketBeat Insider Trades
• Neutral Sentiment: A Yahoo Finance piece frames Aflac as a multi‑year outperformer but warns of mixed valuation signals — useful context for investors assessing whether current multiples leave room for further upside. Yahoo Finance — Valuation Analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks published a sector earnings / Earnings ESP note (broader context ahead of upcoming reports); it raises attention to potential surprises but contains no new company‑specific catalyst. Zacks — Earnings ESP
• Negative Sentiment: UBS trimmed its price target from $116 to $114 and set a Neutral rating — a small downgrade that signals limited near‑term upside and likely contributed to selling pressure. Benzinga / TickerReport — UBS PT Cut
• Negative Sentiment: Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan (a >10% holder) has been executing repeated small share sales under a Rule 10b5‑1 plan (multiple blocks in recent days at ~\$109–\$110). While each sale is small versus its total stake, the cadence and Quiver/SEC disclosures amplify negative sentiment and can pressure intraday liquidity. 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.

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