Insider Selling: Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Major Shareholder Sells 26,300 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Aflac major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 26,300 shares on June 17 at an average price of $116.62, totaling about $3.07 million. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
• The shareholder has been selling Aflac stock repeatedly in recent sessions, including multiple transactions from June 2 through June 16. After the latest sale, it still held about 50.93 million shares, a very small 0.05% reduction in its position.
• Aflac’s stock was little changed around $115.50 and remains near its 52-week high of $119.81. The company recently reported mixed quarterly results, with EPS missing estimates but revenue coming in slightly above expectations.

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 26,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.62, for a total transaction of $3,067,106.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 50,929,635 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,939,414,033.70. The trade was a 0.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 Tuesday, June 16th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 30,000 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.39, for a total value of $3,521,700.00.
• On Monday, June 15th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 28,800 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.17, for a total value of $3,374,496.00.
• On Friday, June 12th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 53,000 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.74, for a total value of $6,240,220.00.
• On Thursday, June 11th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 48,500 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.20, for a total value of $5,684,200.00.
• On Wednesday, June 10th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 26,500 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.00, for a total value of $3,100,500.00.
• On Tuesday, June 9th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,800 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.43, for a total value of $1,477,504.00.
• On Monday, June 8th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,900 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.05, for a total value of $1,613,095.00.
• On Friday, June 5th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total value of $7,441,560.00.
• On Wednesday, June 3rd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 16,300 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.19, for a total value of $1,877,597.00.
• On Tuesday, June 2nd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 9,750 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.39, for a total transaction of $1,105,552.50.

Aflac Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of AFL opened at $115.50 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.79 billion, a PE ratio of 13.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.61. The company's fifty day moving average is $115.22 and its 200 day moving average is $112.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $96.95 and a fifty-two week high of $119.81.

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

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th were issued a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore upgraded Aflac from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Barclays set a $99.00 target price on Aflac and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Mizuho set a $104.00 price target on Aflac in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $112.27.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DNB Asset Management AS grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 51.3% during the 4th quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 168,003 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $18,526,000 after purchasing an additional 56,975 shares during the period. BIP Wealth LLC grew its stake in Aflac by 348.3% in the 4th quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 55,723 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,145,000 after acquiring an additional 43,293 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth $3,743,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Aflac by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,866,471 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $206,712,000 after purchasing an additional 97,766 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dorato Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at about $20,865,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Aflac

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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