Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Takes Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 409,989 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $42,409,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,391,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $155,529,000 after purchasing an additional 127,911 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its holdings in Aflac by 29.3% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,490 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 564 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 20,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,279,000 after acquiring an additional 852 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at about $594,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 158,424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,712,000 after purchasing an additional 8,274 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Trading Up 0.0 %

AFL opened at $108.61 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $107.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $107.06. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $80.59 and a 1-year high of $115.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.08.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.53 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. Aflac’s revenue for the quarter was down 37.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.66 EPS. Analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. Aflac’s payout ratio is 24.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on AFL. UBS Group raised their price objective on Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.93.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total value of $3,197,456.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,360,422.98. This represents a 37.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total value of $107,630.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 25,393 shares in the company, valued at $2,733,048.59. This represents a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Aflac

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.