Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Major Shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan Sells 19,000 Shares

Key Points

• Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 19,000 Aflac shares on March 10 at an average of $110.47 (~$2.10M), part of a string of sales this week totaling 74,700 shares (~$8.25M), yet still directly owns 52,186,100 shares (a 0.04% ownership decrease).
• Aflac missed quarterly expectations with $1.57 EPS vs. $1.69 expected and revenue down 9.6% YoY; the stock trades around $110 with a $56.8B market cap and a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Hold" (target ~$111.73).

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 19,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.47, for a total transaction of $2,098,930.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 52,186,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,764,998,467. The trade was a 0.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Large shareholders that own at least 10% 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 Monday, March 9th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 17,300 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.62, for a total value of $1,896,426.00.
• On Friday, March 6th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 19,100 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.77, for a total transaction of $2,115,707.00.
• On Thursday, March 5th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 19,300 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.96, for a total value of $2,141,528.00.

Aflac Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE AFL traded up $0.65 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $109.98. The company had a trading volume of 270,831 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,286,672. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $119.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm's 50 day moving average is $111.68 and its 200-day moving average is $110.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.66.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.45 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 21.24%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.57 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AFL. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Barclays set a $101.00 target price on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $119.00 price target (up from $110.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $111.73.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Aflac by 64.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,507,000 after buying an additional 5,708 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $455,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 18,137 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,913,000 after purchasing an additional 930 shares in the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 2,716 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Midwest Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $899,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by 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.

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