Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Sells 5,503 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 124,559 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,503 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $13,735,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AFL. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Aflac by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,142,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,301,056,000 after acquiring an additional 6,759,169 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 worth $141,199,000 after acquiring an additional 1,165,676 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Aflac by 132.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,227,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $137,078,000 after acquiring an additional 699,080 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its holdings in Aflac by 180.5% during the third quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 252,457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,320,000 after acquiring an additional 565,884 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in Aflac by 402.9% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 653,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $73,035,000 after acquiring an additional 523,845 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 166,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.38, for a total value of $18,655,080.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 51,723,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,812,641,978. This represents a 0.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 572,875 shares of company stock valued at $63,542,458 over the last 90 days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Price Performance

NYSE:AFL opened at $112.98 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $111.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $110.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.62. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $96.95 and a 12-month high of $119.32.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.66 EPS. Aflac’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be given a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AFL has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Aflac from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings lowered Aflac from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.36.

Aflac Profile

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.