Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Major Shareholder Sells $7,441,560.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 Aflac shares on June 5 at an average price of $118.12, totaling about $7.44 million. The sale was part of a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan and reduced its stake by just 0.12%.
• Post Holdings has been steadily selling Aflac shares in multiple transactions throughout late May and early June, with several sales ranging from roughly $1.0 million to $3.7 million each. After the latest sale, it still held more than 51.1 million shares valued at about $6.04 billion.
• Aflac shares recently traded near their 52-week high, closing around $115.12, while the company reported mixed quarterly results: earnings missed estimates slightly, but revenue came in ahead of expectations and rose sharply year over year. Aflac also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share, implying a 2.1% yield.

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total transaction of $7,441,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 51,169,435 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,044,133,662.20. The trade was a 0.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Large shareholders that own 10% or more 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 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 transaction of $1,877,597.00.
• On Tuesday, June 2nd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 9,750 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were 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 shares were 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 shares were 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.
• 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 transaction of $3,718,056.00.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL stock traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $115.12. 436,523 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,356,849. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $96.95 and a fifty-two week high of $119.81. The stock's fifty day moving average is $114.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $111.83. The company has a market cap of $58.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.61. 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 (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. Aflac's revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Aflac

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Aflac by 64.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,507,000 after buying an additional 5,708 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Aflac by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $455,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $280,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Aflac by 11.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 150,334 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $15,854,000 after acquiring an additional 15,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Aflac by 1.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AFL shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 report on Tuesday, May 5th. Mizuho set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $130.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $112.27.

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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