Insider Selling: Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Major Shareholder Sells 18,000 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 18,000 Aflac shares on May 26 at an average price of $117.03, worth about $2.11 million. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, and the insider still owns more than 51.3 million shares.
• The shareholder has been steadily trimming its Aflac stake, with multiple sales in the days leading up to the latest transaction. These repeated disposals may weigh on investor sentiment even though they were disclosed and planned in advance.
• Aflac’s stock was trading near its recent range, last at $113.79, while the company also continued to offer a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share. The stock remains below its 52-week high of $119.81, and analysts currently have a consensus Hold rating.

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 18,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.03, for a total value of $2,106,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,313,545 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,005,224,171.35. This trade represents a 0.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Major shareholders that own more than 10% 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 Friday, May 22nd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 31,100 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.78, for a total value of $3,662,958.00.
• On Thursday, May 21st, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 30,400 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.61, for a total transaction of $3,575,344.00.
• On Wednesday, May 20th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 31,600 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.66, for a total value of $3,718,056.00.
• On Tuesday, May 19th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 50,000 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.80, for a total value of $5,940,000.00.
• On Monday, May 18th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 41,700 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.45, for a total transaction of $4,939,365.00.
• On Friday, May 15th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 23,500 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.85, for a total transaction of $2,745,975.00.
• On Thursday, May 14th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 24,500 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.42, for a total value of $2,852,290.00.
• On Wednesday, May 13th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 24,200 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.36, for a total transaction of $2,791,712.00.
• On Tuesday, May 12th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 24,300 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.97, for a total transaction of $2,818,071.00.
• On Monday, May 11th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 24,100 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.85, for a total transaction of $2,767,885.00.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL stock traded down $1.06 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $113.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 397,996 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,286,456. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $112.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $111.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market cap of $57.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.89, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.62. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $96.95 and a 1 year high of $119.81.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.66 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be issued 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 is Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is 27.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AFL shares. Mizuho set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $130.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings raised Aflac from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $112.27.

More Aflac News

Here are the key news stories impacting Aflac this week:

• Positive Sentiment: DOWLING & PARTN raised its earnings outlook, forecasting FY2026 EPS of $7.10, FY2027 EPS of $7.55, and FY2028 EPS of $8.05 for Aflac, all at or above the current consensus and signaling expectations for continued profit growth. Aflac analyst estimate article
• Neutral Sentiment: Aflac reaffirmed its shareholder return profile by declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share, which supports income-focused investors but was already expected by the market. Aflac dividend article
• Negative Sentiment: EVP Steven Kent Beaver sold 5,508 shares of Aflac, adding to the perception of insider caution even though the sale was relatively small versus his remaining holdings. Steven Kent Beaver sale article
• Negative Sentiment: Major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan continued trimming its stake, selling multiple blocks of shares in recent sessions, which may weigh on sentiment despite the sales being part of a pre-arranged trading plan. Post Holdings sale article

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 13.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 6,759,169 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,550,855 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $499,216,000 after acquiring an additional 67,650 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Aflac by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,926,777 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $438,621,000 after purchasing an additional 13,666 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter worth about $420,078,000. Finally, Amundi grew its position in Aflac by 22.6% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 3,268,209 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $358,555,000 after purchasing an additional 603,426 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

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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