Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Major Shareholder Sells $2,745,975.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Aflac major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 23,500 shares on May 15 at an average price of $116.85, totaling about $2.75 million. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, and the insider’s ownership fell slightly.
• Share sales have been frequent in recent weeks, with Post Holdings also trimming its Aflac stake multiple times in May and April, including a much larger sale of 166,000 shares on April 8. Despite the selling, the shareholder still owns more than 51.5 million Aflac shares.
• Aflac shares traded near their 52-week high after rising 0.9% to $119.70, just below the high of $119.81. The company also recently reported mixed quarterly results, with earnings missing estimates but revenue beating expectations, and it announced a $0.61 quarterly dividend.

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 23,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.85, for a total value of $2,745,975.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 51,516,345 shares in the company, valued at $6,019,684,913.25. This trade represents a 0.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Large shareholders that own 10% or more 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 Thursday, May 14th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 24,500 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.42, for a total value of $2,852,290.00.
• On Wednesday, May 13th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 24,200 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.36, for a total value of $2,791,712.00.
• On Tuesday, May 12th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 24,300 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.97, for a total value of $2,818,071.00.
• On Monday, May 11th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 24,100 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.85, for a total value of $2,767,885.00.
• On Thursday, April 9th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 86,155 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.24, for a total value of $9,756,192.20.
• On Wednesday, April 8th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 166,000 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.38, for a total value of $18,655,080.00.
• On Tuesday, April 7th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 24,200 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.45, for a total value of $2,672,890.00.
• On Monday, April 6th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 21,500 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.34, for a total value of $2,372,310.00.
• On Thursday, April 2nd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 20,100 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.20, for a total value of $2,215,020.00.
• On Wednesday, April 1st, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 19,600 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.85, for a total value of $2,153,060.00.

Aflac Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE:AFL traded up $1.03 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $119.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 297,944 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,285,615. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $111.89 and a 200-day moving average of $111.37. 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 52-week low of $96.95 and a 52-week high of $119.81.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last posted 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 business had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.66 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.70%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 13.4% during the 4th 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 during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $499,216,000 after acquiring an additional 67,650 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $438,621,000 after acquiring an additional 13,666 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $420,078,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 22.6% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 3,268,209 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $358,555,000 after acquiring an additional 603,426 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AFL shares. Barclays set a $99.00 price objective on Aflac and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Mizuho set a $104.00 price target on Aflac in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings raised Aflac from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Friday. Evercore raised Aflac from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $111.36.

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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