Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Major Shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan Sells 9,100 Shares

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 9,100 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.22, for a total value of $1,030,302.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 51,293,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,807,398,554.90. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

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

• On Wednesday, May 27th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 11,400 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.50, for a total value of $1,316,700.00.
• On Tuesday, May 26th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 18,000 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.03, for a total value of $2,106,540.00.
• On Friday, May 22nd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 31,100 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.78, for a total value of $3,662,958.00.
• On Thursday, May 21st, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 30,400 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.61, for a total transaction of $3,575,344.00.
• On Wednesday, May 20th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 31,600 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.66, for a total transaction of $3,718,056.00.
• On Tuesday, May 19th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 50,000 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.80, for a total transaction 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 transaction 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 transaction of $2,745,975.00.
• On Thursday, May 14th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 24,500 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.42, for a total transaction 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.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE AFL opened at $112.30 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $96.95 and a 1 year high of $119.81. The company has a market capitalization of $57.16 billion, a PE ratio of 12.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a fifty day moving average of $113.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $111.76.

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

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were issued a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac’s payout ratio is presently 27.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AFL shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Mizuho set a $104.00 target price on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Aflac from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.27.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. DNB Asset Management AS lifted its stake in 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 increased its position in Aflac by 348.3% during the fourth quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 55,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,145,000 after buying an additional 43,293 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 126.1% in the third quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 21,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,384,000 after acquiring an additional 11,903 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 10.4% in the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,731,482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $193,407,000 after acquiring an additional 163,791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Employees Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at $3,743,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.