Merit Financial Group LLC Grows Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 59,876 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,301 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $6,688,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 1,526.7% in the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the second quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on AFL shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Aflac from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Evercore boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $120.00 price target on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Barclays set a $101.00 target price on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $110.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, EVP Steven Kent Beaver sold 5,492 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.53, for a total transaction of $601,538.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 38,368 shares in the company, valued at $4,202,447.04. The trade was a 12.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $114.82 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $110.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $109.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.18 billion, a PE ratio of 16.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. 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, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.12). Aflac had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 21.24%.The business had revenue of $4.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.45 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.57 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

About Aflac

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.