Japan Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Sells 453,200 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Japan Post Holdings reduced its Aflac stake by 453,200 shares, or 0.9%, in the third quarter. It still held 50.45 million shares—about 10.06% of Aflac—valued at approximately $5.64 billion.
• Aflac reported quarterly earnings of $2.43 per share, beating the $1.80 consensus estimate, and revenue of $4.30 billion versus $4.12 billion expected; revenue was down 31% year over year.
• Aflac announced a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share, equivalent to a $2.44 annualized payout and a 1.9% yield. Analyst consensus on the stock was “Hold,” with an average target price of $117.53.

Japan Post Holdings Co. Ltd. cut its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 0.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,445,290 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 453,200 shares during the quarter. Aflac comprises approximately 100.0% of Japan Post Holdings Co. Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Japan Post Holdings Co. Ltd. owned approximately 10.06% of Aflac worth $5,638,775,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Groupe la Francaise purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Archer Investment Corp bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Evergreen Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Markowski Investments purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $126.63 on Wednesday. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $105.76 and a twelve month high of $131.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $117.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.38. The firm has a market cap of $63.48 billion, a PE ratio of 18.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.55.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.63. The firm had revenue of $4.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 12.82% and a net margin of 21.24%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 31.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.49 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 18th. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 113,611 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.53, for a total transaction of $13,466,311.83. Following the transaction, the insider owned 50,134,329 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,942,422,016.37. This trade represents a 0.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 713,062 shares of company stock worth $83,249,518. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFL has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Aflac from $137.00 to $133.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Aflac from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Mizuho cut their target price on Aflac from $116.00 to $107.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Aflac from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $117.53.

About Aflac

Aflac Incorporated is an insurance company that provides supplemental health and life insurance to individuals and businesses. Its products are designed to help customers manage expenses that may not be covered by major medical insurance, including costs associated with accidents, cancer, critical illness and hospital stays. The company operates primarily in the United States and Japan. In the U.S., Aflac offers workplace benefits such as accident, disability, dental, vision and life insurance. In Japan, it provides products including cancer, medical and life insurance.

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