Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Major Shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan Sells 9,200 Shares

Key Points

• Aflac major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 9,200 shares on May 29 at an average price of $112.75, worth about $1.04 million, and the sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan.
• The shareholder has been actively trimming its Aflac stake, with multiple sales in the days leading up to the latest transaction, while still holding more than 51.28 million shares after the sale.
• Aflac shares were around $112.30 and the company recently reported mixed quarterly results, missing EPS estimates but topping revenue expectations; it also paid a $0.61 quarterly dividend for a 2.2% yield.

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 9,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.75, for a total value of $1,037,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 51,283,845 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,782,253,523.75. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company's stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

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

• 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 transaction of $1,316,700.00.
• On Tuesday, May 26th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 18,000 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.03, for a total transaction 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 transaction of $3,662,958.00.
• On Thursday, May 21st, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 30,400 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was 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 shares were 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 stock was 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 stock was sold at an average price of $116.42, for a total value of $2,852,290.00.

Aflac Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE:AFL opened at $112.30 on Tuesday. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $96.95 and a 1 year high of $119.81. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $113.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $111.76. The stock has a market cap of $57.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.75, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.Aflac's revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were given 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 was Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac's payout ratio is 27.70%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,142,072 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,301,056,000 after acquiring an additional 6,759,169 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $420,078,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Aflac by 161.9% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,184,801 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $349,405,000 after buying an additional 1,968,738 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Aflac by 1,184.5% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,264,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $141,199,000 after buying an additional 1,165,676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Aflac by 390.7% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,111,711 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $122,588,000 after buying an additional 885,141 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AFL shares. Evercore upgraded Aflac from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. 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. Weiss Ratings downgraded Aflac from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.

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