Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Major Shareholder Sells 12,700 Shares

Key Points

• Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,700 Aflac shares at an average price of $117.05, generating $1.49 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The shareholder still owns roughly 50.8 million shares valued at about $5.95 billion.
• Aflac’s stock recently traded at $116.33, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $1.75—slightly below estimates—but revenue of $4.22 billion exceeded expectations. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $116.62.
• Aflac declared a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share, equivalent to $2.44 annually and a 2.1% yield. Institutional investors own approximately 67.44% of the company’s outstanding shares.

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.05, for a total transaction of $1,486,535.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 50,817,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,948,222,319.50. 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 this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Large shareholders that own more than 10% of a company's stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

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

• On Tuesday, August 18th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 14,200 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.94, for a total value of $1,731,548.00.
• On Monday, August 17th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,900 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.33, for a total value of $1,686,487.00.
• On Friday, August 14th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 14,100 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.43, for a total value of $1,712,163.00.
• On Thursday, August 13th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,000 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.09, for a total value of $1,574,170.00.
• On Monday, June 22nd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 27,845 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.71, for a total value of $3,249,789.95.
• On Thursday, June 18th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 3,300 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.92, for a total value of $385,836.00.
• On Wednesday, June 17th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 26,300 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.62, for a total value of $3,067,106.00.
• On Tuesday, June 16th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 30,000 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.39, for a total transaction of $3,521,700.00.
• On Monday, June 15th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 28,800 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.17, for a total transaction of $3,374,496.00.
• On Friday, June 12th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 53,000 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.74, for a total transaction of $6,240,220.00.

Aflac Stock Performance

Aflac stock traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $116.33. 318,944 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,332,558. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market cap of $58.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.60. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $104.66 and a 12-month high of $130.22. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $121.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $116.12.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $4.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 26.91%.Aflac's quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is 26.15%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AFL. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Aflac by 13.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 6,759,169 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth $4,093,787,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 27.8% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,201,217 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $609,843,000 after buying an additional 1,132,091 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 1.5% in 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 buying an additional 67,650 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $420,078,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AFL. Mizuho set a $116.00 target price on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, August 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $138.00 target price (up from $130.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, August 10th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $124.00 price target (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $122.00 target price on Aflac and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $116.62.

Aflac Company Profile

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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