Insider Selling: Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Major Shareholder Sells 21,500 Shares of Stock

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 21,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.34, for a total value of $2,372,310.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 51,913,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,728,113,522. This represents a 0.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Large shareholders that own at least 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 Thursday, April 2nd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 20,100 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.20, for a total value of $2,215,020.00.
• On Wednesday, April 1st, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 19,600 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.85, for a total value of $2,153,060.00.
• On Wednesday, March 25th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 14,200 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.03, for a total value of $1,519,826.00.
• On Monday, March 23rd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 15,000 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.78, for a total value of $1,601,700.00.
• On Friday, March 20th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 16,800 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.47, for a total value of $1,788,696.00.
• On Thursday, March 19th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 10,100 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.41, for a total value 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 value 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 value 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 value of $1,899,036.00.
• On Thursday, March 12th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 17,900 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.60, for a total value of $1,961,840.00.

Aflac Price Performance

NYSE:AFL opened at $110.39 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.05, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.66. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $96.95 and a 1 year high of $119.32. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $111.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $110.45. 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 posted 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 company had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Stephens Inc. AR lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 21,945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,420,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted 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 acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted 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 acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $902,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Confluence Wealth Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 11,923 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,315,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AFL. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Piper Sandler raised Aflac to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Mizuho set a $107.00 price target on Aflac in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.00.

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.