Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Major Shareholder Sells $1,408,978.00 in Stock

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.49, for a total transaction of $1,408,978.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 50,507,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,833,063,824.10. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 Wednesday, September 23rd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,500 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.20, for a total value of $1,555,200.00.
• On Friday, September 18th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,800 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.22, for a total value of $1,487,616.00.
• On Thursday, September 17th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,900 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.58, for a total value of $1,503,882.00.
• On Wednesday, September 16th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,800 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.49, for a total value of $1,621,362.00.
• 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 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 value of $1,611,960.00.
• On Thursday, September 10th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,300 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was 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 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 stock was sold at an average price of $118.49, for a total transaction of $2,369,800.00.

Aflac Price Performance

NYSE:AFL opened at $113.65 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $105.43 and a one year high of $130.22. The company has a market cap of $56.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.59. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $119.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $116.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.12 and a quick ratio of 0.12.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its 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). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 26.91%.The company had revenue of $4.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.78 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AFL. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 2.9% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 98,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,553,000 after purchasing an additional 2,752 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 10.3% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 4,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $535,000 after buying an additional 426 shares during the period. Andra AP fonden raised its holdings in Aflac by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 38,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,538,000 after buying an additional 626 shares during the last quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA raised its holdings in Aflac by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA now owns 39,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,640,000 after buying an additional 7,752 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in Aflac by 137.4% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 40,904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,796,000 after buying an additional 23,677 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $103.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $108.00 price objective (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $99.00 target price (up from $98.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Friday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.