Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Major Shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan Sells 12,900 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,900 Aflac shares at an average price of $116.28, generating $1.5 million. The sale, conducted under a Rule 10b5-1 plan, reduced its stake by 0.03% but left it owning about 50.8 million shares worth $5.9 billion.
• Aflac shares traded at $117, with the stock down $1.20 during the session. The company reported quarterly revenue of $4.22 billion, above estimates, but earnings of $1.75 per share narrowly missed expectations.
• Aflac declared a quarterly dividend of $0.61, equivalent to $2.44 annually and a 2.1% yield. Analysts overall maintain a “Hold” rating, with an average price target of $116.62.

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.28, for a total transaction of $1,500,012.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 50,791,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,906,069,341.20. This represents a 0.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Large shareholders that own at least 10% of a company's shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

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

• On Thursday, August 20th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,100 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.60, for a total transaction of $1,527,460.00.
• On Wednesday, August 19th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,700 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.05, for a total value of $1,486,535.00.
• On Tuesday, August 18th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 14,200 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.94, for a total transaction of $1,731,548.00.
• On Monday, August 17th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,900 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.33, for a total transaction of $1,686,487.00.
• On Friday, August 14th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 14,100 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.43, for a total transaction of $1,712,163.00.
• On Thursday, August 13th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,000 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.09, for a total value of $1,574,170.00.
• On Monday, June 22nd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 27,845 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.71, for a total value of $3,249,789.95.
• On Thursday, June 18th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 3,300 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.92, for a total value of $385,836.00.
• On Wednesday, June 17th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 26,300 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.62, for a total value of $3,067,106.00.
• On Tuesday, June 16th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 30,000 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.39, for a total value of $3,521,700.00.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL traded down $1.20 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $117.00. 209,385 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,323,538. The firm has a market cap of $58.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.54, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.60. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $104.66 and a twelve month high of $130.22. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $121.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.01). Aflac had a net margin of 26.91% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The business had revenue of $4.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. Aflac's revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in Aflac by 11,094.0% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 86,458,157 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,137,219,000 after purchasing an additional 85,685,796 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the second quarter valued at approximately $4,093,787,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,142,072 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,301,056,000 after buying an additional 6,759,169 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at $420,078,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth $404,639,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AFL shares. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $124.00 price objective (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Aflac from $117.00 to $116.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $108.00 target price (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $116.62.

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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