Insider Selling: Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Major Shareholder Sells $1,569,984.00 in Stock

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.44, for a total value of $1,569,984.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 50,625,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,844,206,565.60. The trade was a 0.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 transactions with the SEC.

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

• On Friday, September 4th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 15,000 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.47, for a total value of $1,762,050.00.
• On Thursday, September 3rd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 20,000 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were 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 transaction 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 transaction of $1,481,856.00.
• On Monday, August 31st, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,700 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.00, for a total transaction 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 transaction of $1,514,760.00.
• On Thursday, August 27th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,700 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.67, for a total transaction of $1,481,709.00.
• On Wednesday, August 26th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,200 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.35, for a total transaction of $1,549,020.00.
• On Tuesday, August 25th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,700 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.49, for a total transaction of $1,479,423.00.
• On Monday, August 24th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,500 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.02, for a total value of $1,593,270.00.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL opened at $115.28 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business’s 50 day moving average is $121.08 and its 200-day moving average is $116.31. The stock has a market cap of $57.79 billion, a PE ratio of 12.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.59. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $105.43 and a twelve month high of $130.22.

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 return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 26.91%.The business had revenue of $4.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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 $0.61 dividend. 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 is presently 26.15%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 11,094.0% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 86,458,157 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,137,219,000 after buying an additional 85,685,796 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Aflac during the second quarter valued at about $4,093,787,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Aflac by 27.8% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,201,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $609,843,000 after acquiring an additional 1,132,091 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Aflac by 1.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,550,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $499,216,000 after acquiring an additional 67,650 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth about $420,078,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $108.00 price target (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Friday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Aflac from $117.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $124.00 target price (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Mizuho set a $116.00 price target on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, August 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $116.62.

Aflac Company Profile

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.