Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Major Shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan Sells 15,000 Shares of Stock

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.78, for a total value of $1,601,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 52,046,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,557,557,304. The trade was a 0.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own more than 10% 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 Friday, March 20th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 16,800 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.47, for a total transaction of $1,788,696.00.
• On Thursday, March 19th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 10,100 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.41, for a total transaction of $1,084,841.00.
• On Wednesday, March 18th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,200 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.43, for a total transaction of $1,322,846.00.
• On Tuesday, March 17th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 15,700 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.77, for a total transaction of $1,723,389.00.
• On Friday, March 13th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 17,400 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.14, for a total transaction of $1,899,036.00.
• On Thursday, March 12th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 17,900 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.60, for a total transaction of $1,961,840.00.
• 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 Monday, March 9th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 17,300 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.62, for a total transaction of $1,896,426.00.
• On Friday, March 6th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 19,100 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.77, for a total value of $2,115,707.00.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL opened at $107.13 on Thursday. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $119.32. The stock has a market cap of $55.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.66. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $111.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $110.34. 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 (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.45 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 21.24%.The business’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 firm posted $1.57 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFL has been the subject of several research reports. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $119.00 price target (up from $110.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Barclays set a $101.00 target price on shares of Aflac and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Mizuho set a $107.00 price target on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Aflac in a research 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 issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.73.

Institutional Trading of Aflac

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Stephens Inc. AR raised its stake in Aflac by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 21,945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,420,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 19,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,105,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $902,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Confluence Wealth Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 11,923 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,315,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.