Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Acquired by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 24.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,920 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,871 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,643,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Aflac in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AFL. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Aflac from $61.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Aflac from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on Aflac from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.31.

Aflac Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of AFL opened at $83.21 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $83.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.06 and a current ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.18, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.91. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $64.10 and a one year high of $86.26.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.09 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 27.67% and a return on equity of 16.88%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.55 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 21st. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 22.08%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 5,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.62, for a total transaction of $423,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,920 shares in the company, valued at $1,516,390.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Aflac news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.62, for a total value of $423,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,516,390.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 30,493 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.91, for a total transaction of $2,436,695.63. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 86,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,879,451.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 46,493 shares of company stock worth $3,765,706 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.