Insider Selling: Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Major Shareholder Sells $1,611,960.00 in Stock

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 14,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.14, for a total transaction of $1,611,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 50,598,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,825,875,596.60. The trade was a 0.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 Monday, September 14th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,600 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.74, for a total value of $1,587,664.00.
• 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 transaction 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 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 shares were 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 stock was 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 value of $1,481,709.00.

Aflac Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of AFL opened at $116.64 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $105.43 and a 1 year high of $130.22. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $120.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $116.46. The stock has a market cap of $58.48 billion, a PE ratio of 12.50, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.59.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.01). Aflac had a net margin of 26.91% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The company had revenue of $4.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. Aflac’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were issued 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%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on AFL shares. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (up from $101.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $138.00 target price (up from $130.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $99.00 target price (up from $98.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Aflac from $117.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $116.62.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AFL. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the second quarter valued at approximately $4,093,787,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Aflac by 27.8% during the 2nd 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 buying an additional 1,132,091 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Aflac by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,550,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $499,216,000 after buying an additional 67,650 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at $420,078,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at $404,639,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently 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.