Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Invests $42.41 Million in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 409,989 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $42,409,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV owned about 0.07% of Aflac at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 313,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,399,000 after purchasing an additional 17,613 shares during the last quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth $103,000. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group lifted its position in Aflac by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 9,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $953,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Aflac by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $455,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. Finally, Voleon Capital Management LP bought a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at $250,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $108.61 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $107.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.06. 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 Incorporated has a 1-year low of $80.59 and a 1-year high of $115.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.01). Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. The firm had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. Aflac’s revenue was down 37.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Aflac

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on AFL. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Aflac in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Aflac from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” 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 given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Aflac presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.93.

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.