Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Major Shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan Sells 9,750 Shares

Key Points

• Major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 9,750 Aflac shares on June 2 at an average price of $113.39, totaling about $1.11 million. The sale was disclosed in an SEC filing and was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
• Post Holdings has been steadily trimming its Aflac stake, with several additional sales in late May and early June. After the latest transaction, it still held more than 51.2 million shares, a very small 0.02% reduction in its position.
• Aflac shares rose 1.3% to $116.02 during Thursday trading, near the stock’s 52-week high of $119.81. The company also recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share, equal to a 2.1% annual yield.

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 9,750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.39, for a total value of $1,105,552.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 51,265,035 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,812,942,318.65. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Major 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, June 1st, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 9,060 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were 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 shares were 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 shares were 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 shares were 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 value of $3,575,344.00.
• 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.

Aflac Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:AFL traded up $1.52 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $116.02. 355,440 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,357,507. The stock has a market cap of $59.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.61. 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 Incorporated has a 12-month low of $96.95 and a 12-month high of $119.81. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $113.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $111.75.

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

Aflac Dividend Announcement

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AFL. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,142,072 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,301,056,000 after buying an additional 6,759,169 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Aflac by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,550,855 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $499,216,000 after acquiring an additional 67,650 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Aflac by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,926,777 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $438,621,000 after acquiring an additional 13,666 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $420,078,000. Finally, Amundi grew its position in Aflac by 22.6% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 3,268,209 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $358,555,000 after acquiring an additional 603,426 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho set a $104.00 price target on Aflac in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Evercore upgraded Aflac from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $130.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.