Insider Selling: Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Major Shareholder Sells $1,649,570.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,000 Aflac shares for $1.65 million at an average price of $126.89 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. It retained about 50.1 million shares, and the sale reduced its stake by 0.03%.
• Aflac reported quarterly EPS of $2.43, beating the $1.80 analyst consensus, and revenue of $4.30 billion versus $4.12 billion expected; revenue was down 31% year over year.
• Aflac declared a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share, equivalent to $2.44 annually and a 1.9% yield. Analysts’ consensus rating was “Hold,” with an average target price of $118.73.

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.89, for a total transaction of $1,649,570.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 50,121,329 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,359,895,436.81. This represents a 0.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Major shareholders that own more than 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, October 15th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 113,611 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.53, for a total value of $13,466,311.83.
• On Wednesday, October 14th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 55,000 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.79, for a total value 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 stock was 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 value of $1,469,160.00.

Aflac Stock Up 0.3%

AFL stock opened at $127.01 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $105.76 and a 12 month high of $131.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $118.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $116.48.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.63. The business had revenue of $4.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.12 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 31.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.49 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AFL. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $125.00 price objective (up from $124.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Mizuho raised their target price on Aflac from $112.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Aflac from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $103.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Aflac from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $118.73.

Aflac Company Profile

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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