Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Major Shareholder Sells 13,600 Shares

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,600 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.74, for a total transaction of $1,587,664.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 50,584,590 shares in the company, valued at $5,905,245,036.60. This trade represents a 0.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Large shareholders that own at least 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 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 Thursday, September 10th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,300 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.32, for a total value of $1,520,456.00.
• 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 value 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 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 shares were 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 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 Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE AFL traded up $0.53 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $118.08. The stock had a trading volume of 218,466 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,310,797. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $120.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $116.41. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $105.43 and a fifty-two week high of $130.22. The company has a market cap of $59.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.64, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.12.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $4.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.11 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 26.91%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AFL shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $117.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 target price (up from $101.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $99.00 price objective (up from $98.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Mizuho set a $116.00 target price on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, August 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $116.62.

Institutional Trading of Aflac

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AFL. Stephens Inc. AR raised its position in Aflac by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 21,945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,420,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.7% in the first quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 13,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,508,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its stake in Aflac by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $902,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Studio Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Aflac by 1.3% in the second quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 7,650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $897,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.