Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Major Shareholder Sells $3,521,700.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Aflac major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 30,000 shares on June 16 at an average price of $117.39, for a total of $3.52 million. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
• Post Holdings has been actively trimming its Aflac stake throughout June, with multiple additional sales totaling hundreds of thousands of shares over the prior weeks.
• Aflac stock was down about 0.5% to $115.61, while the company reported quarterly EPS that missed estimates but revenue that came in slightly above expectations. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.61, yielding about 2.1%.

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 30,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.39, for a total transaction of $3,521,700.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 50,955,935 shares in the company, valued at $5,981,717,209.65. This trade represents a 0.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Major shareholders that own more than 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 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 shares were sold at an average price of $117.74, for a total value of $6,240,220.00.
• On Thursday, June 11th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 48,500 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.20, for a total value of $5,684,200.00.
• On Wednesday, June 10th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 26,500 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.00, for a total value of $3,100,500.00.
• On Tuesday, June 9th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,800 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.43, for a total value of $1,477,504.00.
• On Monday, June 8th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,900 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.05, for a total value of $1,613,095.00.
• 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 value of $7,441,560.00.
• On Wednesday, June 3rd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 16,300 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.19, for a total value 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.

Aflac Stock Down 0.5%

AFL traded down $0.63 during trading on Thursday, hitting $115.61. The company had a trading volume of 694,526 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,390,182. The company has a market cap of $58.84 billion, a PE ratio of 13.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a 50-day moving average of $115.07 and a 200-day moving average of $112.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $119.81.

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

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th were paid a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on AFL shares. Morgan Stanley upped 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. Mizuho set a $104.00 target price on Aflac in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays set a $99.00 price objective on Aflac and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $112.27.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Stephens Inc. AR grew its position in Aflac by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 21,945 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,420,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.7% in the first quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 13,743 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,508,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,119 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 19,088 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,105,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,702 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $902,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. 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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