Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Major Shareholder Sells 113,611 Shares of Company Stock

Key Points

• Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 113,611 Aflac shares at an average price of $118.53, generating approximately $13.47 million. The transaction, conducted under a Rule 10b5-1 plan, reduced its stake by 0.23% but left it owning more than 50.1 million shares.
• Aflac shares closed down 0.8% at $119.05, with the stock valued at a market capitalization of about $59.68 billion. The company recently reported $1.75 in quarterly EPS, slightly below estimates, while revenue of $4.22 billion exceeded expectations.
• Aflac maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share, equivalent to a 2.0% yield. Analysts’ consensus rating is “Hold”, with an average price target of $117.20.

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 113,611 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.53, for a total value of $13,466,311.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 50,134,329 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company's stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

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

• On Wednesday, October 14th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 55,000 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.79, for a total transaction of $6,478,450.00.
• On Tuesday, October 13th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 42,000 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.38, for a total value of $4,887,960.00.
• On Monday, October 12th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,200 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.85, for a total value of $1,413,370.00.
• On Friday, October 9th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,000 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.72, for a total value of $1,376,640.00.
• On Thursday, October 8th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,000 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.45, for a total value of $1,487,850.00.
• On Wednesday, October 7th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,000 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.80, for a total value of $1,353,600.00.
• On Tuesday, October 6th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,050 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.49, for a total value of $1,481,044.50.
• On Monday, October 5th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,000 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.25, for a total value of $1,459,250.00.
• On Friday, October 2nd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,200 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.30, for a total transaction of $1,469,160.00.
• On Thursday, October 1st, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 11,900 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.18, for a total transaction of $1,323,042.00.

Aflac Stock Down 0.8%

AFL traded down $0.93 on Monday, reaching $119.05. 198,159 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,270,525. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $116.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $117.27. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $105.43 and a 52-week high of $130.22. The company has a market cap of $59.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.77, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.12 and a quick ratio of 0.12.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $4.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th were issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 19th. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on AFL. 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 note on Monday, August 10th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on Aflac from $119.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $125.00 price objective (up from $124.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Aflac from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a "hold" rating and set a $110.00 price target (up from $101.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $117.20.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. acquired a new position in Aflac during the second quarter valued at approximately $6,630,000. Atlas Wealth LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,802,000. Callan Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,546,000. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 137.4% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 40,904 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,796,000 after purchasing an additional 23,677 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 135.5% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 142,180 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $15,599,000 after purchasing an additional 81,803 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Company Profile

Aflac Incorporated NYSE: AFL is an insurance company specializing in supplemental health and life insurance. Through its policies, the company helps individuals and families manage expenses that may not be fully covered by major medical insurance, including deductibles, copayments and other out-of-pocket costs.

Aflac offers products such as accident, cancer, critical illness, hospital indemnity, dental and vision, disability, life and long-term care insurance. Many of its supplemental policies provide cash benefits directly to policyholders, who can generally use the funds according to their individual needs.

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