Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Major Shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan Sells 26,500 Shares

Key Points

• Major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 26,500 Aflac shares at an average price of $117.00, totaling about $3.1 million, under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The insider still holds more than 51.1 million shares after the sale.
• Aflac shares rose 1.5% to $118.19, moving close to their 52-week high of $119.81. The stock has a market cap of about $60.2 billion and trades at a P/E of 13.42.
• The company recently reported mixed quarterly results, with EPS of $1.75 missing estimates but revenue of $4.24 billion beating expectations. Aflac also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share, yielding about 2.1% annualized.

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 26,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.00, for a total value of $3,100,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,116,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,980,599,495. This represents a 0.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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 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 value of $1,477,504.00.
• On Monday, June 8th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,900 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were 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 shares were sold at an average price of $115.19, for a total value of $1,877,597.00.
• On Tuesday, June 2nd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 9,750 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.39, for a total value of $1,105,552.50.
• On Monday, June 1st, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 9,060 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.53, for a total value of $1,019,521.80.
• On Friday, May 29th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 9,200 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.75, for a total value of $1,037,300.00.
• On Thursday, May 28th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 9,100 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.22, for a total value of $1,030,302.00.
• 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.

Aflac Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of AFL traded up $1.74 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $118.19. The company had a trading volume of 413,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,364,792. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $114.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $111.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.61. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $96.95 and a 52-week high of $119.81.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last posted 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). The company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.Aflac's revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered Aflac from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $130.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $112.27.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 64.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 5,708 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $455,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $280,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 11.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 150,334 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $15,854,000 after acquiring an additional 15,105 shares during the period. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 11,953 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,261,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the period. 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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