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

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 409,989 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $42,409,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV owned 0.07% of Aflac as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 75.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $88,533,000 after purchasing an additional 333,083 shares during the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $948,000. Willis Investment Counsel raised its stake in Aflac by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 273,466 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,287,000 after acquiring an additional 3,357 shares in the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth about $1,014,000. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 108,405 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,213,000 after purchasing an additional 5,731 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Aflac Stock Up 0.2 %

AFL stock traded up $0.20 during trading on Monday, reaching $105.73. The stock had a trading volume of 2,002,841 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,105,562. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $83.27 and a one year high of $115.50. The company's 50 day moving average is $107.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $106.82. The company has a market capitalization of $57.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Aflac's payout ratio is currently 36.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays increased their price objective on Aflac from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on 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, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $104.00.

Aflac Profile

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.