Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Major Shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan Sells 30,000 Shares of Stock

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.39, for a total transaction of $3,521,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 50,955,935 shares in the company, valued at $5,981,717,209.65. The trade was a 0.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Major 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 Monday, June 15th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 28,800 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.17, for a total value of $3,374,496.00.
• On Friday, June 12th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 53,000 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.74, for a total value of $6,240,220.00.
• On Thursday, June 11th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 48,500 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.20, for a total value of $5,684,200.00.
• On Wednesday, June 10th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 26,500 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.00, for a total transaction of $3,100,500.00.
• On Tuesday, June 9th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,800 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.43, for a total transaction of $1,477,504.00.
• On Monday, June 8th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,900 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.05, for a total value of $1,613,095.00.
• On Friday, June 5th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total value of $7,441,560.00.
• On Wednesday, June 3rd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 16,300 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.19, for a total transaction of $1,877,597.00.
• On Tuesday, June 2nd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 9,750 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.39, for a total transaction of $1,105,552.50.
• On Monday, June 1st, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 9,060 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.53, for a total transaction of $1,019,521.80.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $115.50 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $115.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $112.17. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $96.95 and a 52 week high of $119.81. The stock has a market cap of $58.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.11, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.61.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.20 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.70%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AFL. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Groupe la Francaise bought a new position in Aflac during the first quarter worth $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Aflac in the first quarter worth $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Aflac during the first quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AFL has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group lowered their price target on Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Aflac from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $112.27.

About Aflac

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.