Insider Selling: Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Major Shareholder Sells 28,800 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Aflac major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 28,800 shares on June 15 at an average price of $117.17, for proceeds of about $3.37 million. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
• The insider has been actively trimming its Aflac stake with multiple sales over the prior two weeks, including several larger transactions in early and mid-June. Despite the recent selling, Post Holdings still owns more than 50.9 million shares.
• Aflac stock was trading near its 52-week high at $117.38, up 0.4% on the day. The company also recently reported mixed quarterly results, missing EPS estimates but beating revenue expectations, while paying a $0.61 quarterly dividend.

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 28,800 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.17, for a total value of $3,374,496.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 50,985,935 shares in the company, valued at $5,974,022,003.95. This represents a 0.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company's stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

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

• On Friday, June 12th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 53,000 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was 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 transaction 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 transaction 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 transaction of $1,477,504.00.
• On Monday, June 8th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,900 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.05, for a total transaction 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 transaction of $7,441,560.00.
• On Wednesday, June 3rd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 16,300 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.19, for a total transaction of $1,877,597.00.
• On Tuesday, June 2nd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 9,750 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.39, for a total transaction of $1,105,552.50.
• On Monday, June 1st, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 9,060 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.53, for a total transaction of $1,019,521.80.
• On Friday, May 29th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 9,200 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.75, for a total value of $1,037,300.00.

Aflac Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE:AFL opened at $117.38 on Wednesday. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $96.95 and a 52 week high of $119.81. The stock's fifty day moving average is $114.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $112.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

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

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were given a dividend of $0.61 per share. 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 is currently 27.70%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 6,759,169 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at $420,078,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Aflac by 161.9% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,184,801 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $349,405,000 after buying an additional 1,968,738 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Aflac by 1,184.5% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,264,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $141,199,000 after purchasing an additional 1,165,676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 390.7% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,111,711 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $122,588,000 after purchasing an additional 885,141 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AFL. Evercore raised Aflac from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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. Barclays set a $99.00 target price on Aflac and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $112.27.

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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