Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Major Shareholder Sells $1,896,426.00 in Stock

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 17,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.62, for a total transaction of $1,896,426.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 52,205,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,722,723,062. This trade represents a 0.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

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

• On Wednesday, March 11th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 18,100 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.53, for a total transaction of $1,982,493.00.
• On Tuesday, March 10th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 19,000 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.47, for a total transaction of $2,098,930.00.
• On Friday, March 6th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 19,100 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.77, for a total transaction of $2,115,707.00.
• On Thursday, March 5th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 19,300 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.96, for a total transaction of $2,141,528.00.

Aflac Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $108.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $111.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $110.30. The stock has a market cap of $56.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.66. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $119.32.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.45 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 14.35%. Aflac’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.57 EPS. Analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Key Aflac News

Here are the key news stories impacting Aflac this week:

• Positive Sentiment: New distribution deal: Aflac announced a partnership with Empower Brokerage to distribute supplemental-insurance products, which should broaden channels for sales and support premium growth over time. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings/fundamentals context: Aflac’s Feb. 4 quarter showed an EPS miss and revenue decline year-over-year; consensus remains a “Hold” with an average target around $111. That keeps analysts cautious and caps upside absent clearer improvement in top-line trends.
• Neutral Sentiment: Human-interest coverage: Aflac ran a feature on a policyholder’s cancer journey (brand/PR positive but unlikely to move the stock materially). Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Director insider sale: Director Charles D. Lake II sold 15,590 shares (avg. ~$109.93) on Mar. 11. Insider sales can be read negatively by the market even if motivated by personal reasons; SEC Form 4 filed. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Major shareholder trimming: Post Holdings (Japan) has executed several small block sales (multiple ~17k–19k-share trades across Mar. 5–11). Sales are small relative to its >10% stake but add supply and suggest portfolio rebalancing rather than confidence-boosting buying. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Cybersecurity incident disclosed: Media reports say Aflac confirmed a cybersecurity breach; details remain limited. Potential data, remediation costs, regulatory follow-ups or client impact make this the most direct near?term operational risk in the headlines. Read More.

Institutional Trading of Aflac

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AFL. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in Aflac by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,731,482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $193,407,000 after acquiring an additional 163,791 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Aflac by 3.8% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,768,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $196,662,000 after purchasing an additional 65,308 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 126.1% during the third quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 21,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,384,000 after purchasing an additional 11,903 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 12.0% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 97,344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,841,000 after purchasing an additional 10,423 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 31.0% in the third quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 55,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,146,000 after purchasing an additional 13,017 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AFL. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Mizuho set a $107.00 price objective on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $120.00 target price on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, December 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Aflac presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.73.

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.