Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Major Shareholder Sells $3,662,958.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 31,100 Aflac shares on May 22 at an average price of $117.78, totaling about $3.66 million. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan.
• Post Holdings has been steadily trimming its Aflac stake with multiple recent sales over the prior weeks, including several transactions in May and a larger sale in April. After the latest sale, it still held more than 51.3 million shares.
• Aflac shares fell 1.5% to $115.07 as the article noted, even though the stock remains near its 52-week high. The company also recently reported quarterly earnings of $1.75 per share, slightly below expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share.

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 31,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.78, for a total transaction of $3,662,958.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 51,331,545 shares in the company, valued at $6,045,829,370.10. This represents a 0.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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 stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

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

• 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 value of $3,575,344.00.
• On Wednesday, May 20th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 31,600 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was 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 transaction of $4,939,365.00.
• On Friday, May 15th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 23,500 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.85, for a total transaction of $2,745,975.00.
• On Thursday, May 14th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 24,500 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.42, for a total transaction 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 transaction of $2,791,712.00.
• On Tuesday, May 12th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 24,300 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.97, for a total transaction of $2,818,071.00.
• On Monday, May 11th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 24,100 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.85, for a total transaction of $2,767,885.00.
• On Thursday, April 9th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 86,155 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.24, for a total value of $9,756,192.20.

Aflac Stock Down 1.5%

NYSE:AFL traded down $1.75 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $115.07. 412,255 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,286,265. The business's 50-day moving average price is $112.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $111.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.62. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $96.95 and a 1 year high of $119.81. 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 (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The company's revenue was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 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 paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.70%.

Institutional Trading of Aflac

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Aflac by 64.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 5,708 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $455,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the 2nd quarter valued at $280,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 150,334 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $15,854,000 after buying an additional 15,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 11,953 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,261,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AFL. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Evercore upgraded shares of Aflac from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. UBS Group cut their target price on Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.

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