Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Major Shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan Sells 14,100 Shares

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 14,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.43, for a total transaction of $1,712,163.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 50,858,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,175,758,583.70. This trade represents a 0.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, August 13th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,000 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.09, for a total transaction of $1,574,170.00.
• On Monday, June 22nd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 27,845 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.71, for a total transaction of $3,249,789.95.
• On Thursday, June 18th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 3,300 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.92, for a total transaction of $385,836.00.
• On Wednesday, June 17th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 26,300 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.62, for a total transaction of $3,067,106.00.
• On Tuesday, June 16th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 30,000 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.39, for a total transaction of $3,521,700.00.
• On Monday, June 15th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 28,800 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.17, for a total transaction of $3,374,496.00.
• On Friday, June 12th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 53,000 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.74, for a total value of $6,240,220.00.
• On Thursday, June 11th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 48,500 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.20, for a total value of $5,684,200.00.
• On Wednesday, June 10th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 26,500 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.00, for a total value of $3,100,500.00.
• On Tuesday, June 9th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,800 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.43, for a total value of $1,477,504.00.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $121.74 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.12 and a quick ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.05, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.60. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $121.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $116.04. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $104.66 and a 12 month high of $130.22.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $4.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 26.91% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on AFL shares. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (up from $101.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $124.00 price target (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Aflac from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $117.58.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,142,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,301,056,000 after acquiring an additional 6,759,169 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the second quarter worth approximately $4,093,787,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Aflac by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,550,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $499,216,000 after purchasing an additional 67,650 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at $420,078,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at $404,639,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Company 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.