Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Major Shareholder Sells $1,520,456.00 in Stock

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.32, for a total transaction of $1,520,456.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 50,612,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,785,985,560.80. This trade represents a 0.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Large shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

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

• On Monday, September 14th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,600 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.74, for a total transaction of $1,587,664.00.
• On Friday, September 11th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 14,000 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.14, for a total transaction of $1,611,960.00.
• On Tuesday, September 8th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,600 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.44, for a total transaction of $1,569,984.00.
• On Friday, September 4th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 15,000 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.47, for a total transaction of $1,762,050.00.
• On Thursday, September 3rd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 20,000 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.49, for a total transaction of $2,369,800.00.
• On Wednesday, September 2nd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,500 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.19, for a total value of $1,582,065.00.
• On Tuesday, September 1st, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,800 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.77, for a total value of $1,481,856.00.
• On Monday, August 31st, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,700 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.00, for a total value of $1,473,200.00.
• On Friday, August 28th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,000 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.52, for a total value of $1,514,760.00.
• On Thursday, August 27th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,700 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.67, for a total value of $1,481,709.00.

Aflac Stock Performance

Aflac stock opened at $116.78 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $120.84 and a 200-day moving average of $116.43. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $105.43 and a 1 year high of $130.22. 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 company has a market capitalization of $58.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.59.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.01). Aflac had a net margin of 26.91% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The business had revenue of $4.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings downgraded Aflac from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $108.00 price target (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Mizuho set a $116.00 price target on Aflac in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $103.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $116.62.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AFL. DNB Asset Management AS lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 51.3% during the 4th quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 168,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,526,000 after buying an additional 56,975 shares in the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,743,000. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the second quarter valued at approximately $6,630,000. Atlas Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,802,000. Finally, Integrated Investment Consultants LLC lifted its holdings in Aflac by 716.1% during the fourth quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 17,465 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,926,000 after acquiring an additional 15,325 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

About Aflac

Aflac Incorporated is an insurance company that provides supplemental health and life insurance products. Its coverage is designed to help policyholders manage expenses that may not be fully covered by major medical insurance, including costs associated with accidents, illness, hospitalization, disability and critical illness.

Through its U.S. operations, Aflac markets policies to individuals, businesses and employees through workplace benefit programs, independent agents and brokers. The company is also a major provider of supplemental insurance in Japan, where it offers products focused primarily on cancer, medical and income-support coverage.

Founded in 1955 in Columbus, Georgia, as American Family Life Assurance Company, the business adopted the name Aflac in 1990.