Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Major Shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan Sells 30,400 Shares of Stock

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 30,400 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.61, for a total value of $3,575,344.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 51,362,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,040,760,678.45. The trade was a 0.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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 shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

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

• On Wednesday, May 20th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 31,600 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.66, for a total value of $3,718,056.00.
• On Tuesday, May 19th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 50,000 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.80, for a total value of $5,940,000.00.
• On Monday, May 18th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 41,700 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.45, for a total value of $4,939,365.00.
• On Friday, May 15th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 23,500 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.85, for a total value of $2,745,975.00.
• On Thursday, May 14th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 24,500 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.42, for a total value of $2,852,290.00.
• On Wednesday, May 13th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 24,200 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.36, for a total transaction of $2,791,712.00.
• On Tuesday, May 12th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 24,300 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.97, for a total transaction of $2,818,071.00.
• On Monday, May 11th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 24,100 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.85, for a total transaction of $2,767,885.00.
• On Thursday, April 9th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 86,155 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.24, for a total transaction of $9,756,192.20.
• On Wednesday, April 8th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 166,000 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.38, for a total transaction of $18,655,080.00.

Aflac Price Performance

NYSE AFL opened at $116.89 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.50 billion, a PE ratio of 13.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $112.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $111.78. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $96.95 and a 12-month high of $119.81.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.66 earnings per share. Aflac’s revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AFL. DNB Asset Management AS raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 51.3% in the 4th quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 168,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,526,000 after buying an additional 56,975 shares in the last quarter. BIP Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 348.3% in the 4th quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 55,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,145,000 after buying an additional 43,293 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,731,482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $193,407,000 after buying an additional 163,791 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 126.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 21,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,384,000 after buying an additional 11,903 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,866,471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $206,712,000 after buying an additional 97,766 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AFL. Evercore upgraded shares of Aflac from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Aflac from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $112.27.

Aflac Company Profile

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.