Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan Sells 14,000 Shares of Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock

Key Points

• Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 14,000 Aflac shares for approximately $1.61 million at an average price of $115.14, reducing its position by 0.03% while retaining roughly 50.6 million shares.
• Aflac shares were trading at $116.67, down 0.3%, with the company reporting quarterly EPS of $1.75—slightly below estimates—on revenue of $4.22 billion, which exceeded expectations.
• Aflac maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share, or $2.44 annually, representing a 2.1% yield; analysts’ consensus rating is Hold with a $116.62 target price.

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 14,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.14, for a total transaction of $1,611,960.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 50,598,190 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,825,875,596.60. The trade was a 0.03% 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 sales and purchases with the SEC.

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

• On Thursday, September 10th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,300 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.32, for a total transaction of $1,520,456.00.
• On Tuesday, September 8th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,600 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.44, for a total value of $1,569,984.00.
• On Friday, September 4th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 15,000 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.47, for a total transaction of $1,762,050.00.
• On Thursday, September 3rd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 20,000 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.49, for a total value of $2,369,800.00.
• On Wednesday, September 2nd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,500 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.19, for a total transaction of $1,582,065.00.
• On Tuesday, September 1st, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,800 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.77, for a total value of $1,481,856.00.
• On Monday, August 31st, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,700 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.00, for a total value of $1,473,200.00.
• On Friday, August 28th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,000 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.52, for a total transaction of $1,514,760.00.
• On Thursday, August 27th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,700 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.67, for a total value of $1,481,709.00.
• On Wednesday, August 26th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,200 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.35, for a total transaction of $1,549,020.00.

Aflac Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE:AFL traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $116.67. The stock had a trading volume of 243,570 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,311,532. The company has a market cap of $58.49 billion, a PE ratio of 12.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $121.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.37. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $105.43 and a 1-year high of $130.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 19th. Aflac's payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth about $3,743,000. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. acquired a new stake in Aflac during the second quarter valued at approximately $6,630,000. Atlas Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,802,000. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 716.1% in the 4th quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 17,465 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,926,000 after purchasing an additional 15,325 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 135.5% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 142,180 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $15,599,000 after buying an additional 81,803 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Aflac from $117.00 to $116.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Aflac in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $103.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings cut Aflac from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. TD Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $110.00 price target (up from $101.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $108.00 price target (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Friday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $116.62.

Aflac Company Profile

Aflac Incorporated is an insurance company that provides supplemental health and life insurance products. Its coverage is designed to help policyholders manage expenses that may not be fully covered by major medical insurance, including costs associated with accidents, illness, hospitalization, disability and critical illness.

Through its U.S. operations, Aflac markets policies to individuals, businesses and employees through workplace benefit programs, independent agents and brokers. The company is also a major provider of supplemental insurance in Japan, where it offers products focused primarily on cancer, medical and income-support coverage.

Founded in 1955 in Columbus, Georgia, as American Family Life Assurance Company, the business adopted the name Aflac in 1990.

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