Insider Selling: Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Major Shareholder Sells 42,000 Shares of Company Stock

Key Points

• Japan Post Holdings sold 42,000 Aflac shares at an average price of $116.38, generating $4.89 million. The Rule 10b5-1 transaction reduced its stake by 0.08%, leaving it with about 50.3 million shares.
• Aflac shares recently traded at $118.78, with a market capitalization of approximately $59.55 billion. The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share, equivalent to a 2.1% annualized yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $117.00. Recent updates included price-target cuts from Wells Fargo and Bank of America, while AM Best affirmed Aflac’s credit ratings.

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 42,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.38, for a total value of $4,887,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 50,302,940 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,854,256,157.20. This represents a 0.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Large 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 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 transaction of $1,413,370.00.
• On Friday, October 9th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,000 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.72, for a total transaction 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 transaction of $1,487,850.00.
• On Wednesday, October 7th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,000 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.80, for a total transaction of $1,353,600.00.
• On Tuesday, October 6th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,050 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.49, for a total transaction 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 transaction of $1,459,250.00.
• On Friday, October 2nd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,200 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were 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 shares were sold at an average price of $111.18, for a total transaction of $1,323,042.00.
• On Tuesday, September 29th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,100 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.36, for a total transaction of $1,371,656.00.
• On Monday, September 28th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,000 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.63, for a total transaction of $1,363,560.00.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL traded up $0.57 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $118.78. The stock had a trading volume of 295,822 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,275,521. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $105.43 and a 12 month high of $130.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.55 billion, a PE ratio of 12.79, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.12. The company's 50-day moving average is $116.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $117.10.

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

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th were given a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.15%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Compound Planning Inc. raised its position in Aflac by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 13,743 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,508,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.3% in the third quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 7,013 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $784,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Studio Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.3% in the second quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 7,650 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $897,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. ABLE Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. ABLE Financial Group LLC now owns 3,658 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $409,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lewis Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC now owns 3,935 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $432,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Key Aflac News

Here are the key news stories impacting Aflac this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AM Best affirmed Aflac’s credit ratings and those of its subsidiaries, supporting confidence in the insurer’s balance sheet, claims-paying ability and financial stability. AM Best Affirms Aflac Credit Ratings
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America maintained a Buy rating while reducing its price target from $137 to $133. Although the target was lowered, it remains above recent trading levels and indicates continued expected upside. Bank of America Cuts Aflac Price Target
• Neutral Sentiment: Japan Post Holdings, Aflac’s major shareholder, reported additional sales of 12,000 shares on October 9 and 12,200 shares on October 12. The transactions were executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan and reduced its ownership by only about 0.02% per trade, limiting the immediate impact, though the repeated selling may concern investors. Japan Post Holdings Aflac Share Sale
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo lowered its Aflac price target from $122 to $116 while retaining an Equal Weight rating, signaling limited near-term upside at recent levels. Wells Fargo Cuts Aflac Price Target

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFL has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen reaffirmed 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. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Aflac from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Aflac from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 9th. 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 report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, UBS Group restated 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. One investment 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $117.00.

About Aflac

Aflac Incorporated NYSE: AFL is an insurance company that provides supplemental health and life insurance products to individuals, employers and groups. Its coverage is designed to help policyholders manage expenses that may not be fully covered by major medical insurance, including costs associated with illness, injury and other qualifying events.

The company's products include accident, cancer, critical illness, hospital indemnity, disability, dental, vision and life insurance. Aflac distributes its policies through workplace benefits programs, independent agents, brokers and other distribution channels.

Founded in 1955 as American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus, Aflac has its headquarters in Columbus, Georgia.

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