Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Major Shareholder Sells $1,613,095.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,900 Aflac shares on June 8 for about $1.61 million at an average price of $116.05. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan.
• Post Holdings has been actively trimming its Aflac stake with multiple sales in early June and late May, including a 63,000-share sale on June 5 worth about $7.44 million. After the latest transaction, it still owned more than 51.1 million shares.
• Aflac shares recently traded near $117.53, close to their 52-week high of $119.81. The company also reported mixed quarterly results, with earnings slightly below estimates but revenue above forecasts, and it continues to pay a quarterly dividend yielding about 2.1%.

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.05, for a total transaction of $1,613,095.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,155,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,936,599,836.75. The trade was a 0.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 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 Friday, June 5th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total transaction of $7,441,560.00.
• On Wednesday, June 3rd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 16,300 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.19, for a total transaction 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 transaction 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 transaction 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 transaction 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 transaction 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 stock was 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 stock was 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.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL traded up $1.92 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $117.53. The stock had a trading volume of 521,190 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,363,067. The company has a market cap of $59.82 billion, a PE ratio of 13.34, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.61. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $114.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $111.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $96.95 and a fifty-two week high of $119.81.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.66 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on AFL. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Evercore upgraded shares of Aflac from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Mizuho set a $104.00 target price on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Aflac from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. One 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $112.27.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Groupe la Francaise bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

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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