Insider Selling: Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Major Shareholder Sells $385,836.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Aflac major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 3,300 shares on June 18 at an average price of $116.92, totaling $385,836. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan and slightly reduced its ownership stake.
• The insider has been actively trimming its Aflac position in recent days, including multiple larger sales earlier in June. Despite those sales, it still owns more than 50.9 million shares valued at about $5.95 billion.
• Aflac shares were up 1.1% to $117.87, near their 52-week high, while the company also reported mixed fundamentals last quarter: earnings missed estimates but revenue beat expectations. Analysts currently rate the stock Hold on average with a consensus target of $112.27.

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 3,300 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.92, for a total value of $385,836.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 50,926,335 shares in the company, valued at $5,954,307,088.20. The trade was a 0.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through 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 transactions with the SEC.

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

• On Wednesday, June 17th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 26,300 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.62, for a total transaction of $3,067,106.00.
• On Tuesday, June 16th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 30,000 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were 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 shares were 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 stock was sold at an average price of $117.74, for a total transaction 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 value of $3,100,500.00.
• On Tuesday, June 9th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,800 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were 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 stock was 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.

Aflac Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of Aflac stock traded up $1.32 on Tuesday, reaching $117.87. 266,152 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,434,137. The company has a market capitalization of $59.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.61. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $96.95 and a 52 week high of $119.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. The firm's 50-day moving average is $115.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $112.26.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. The business's revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on AFL shares. Barclays set a $99.00 target price on Aflac and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Aflac from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Wall Street Zen raised Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Evercore raised shares of Aflac from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Two equities research 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, Aflac presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $112.27.

Institutional Trading of Aflac

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 64.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,507,000 after buying an additional 5,708 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Aflac by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $455,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in Aflac in the second quarter worth about $280,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Aflac by 11.2% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 150,334 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $15,854,000 after acquiring an additional 15,105 shares during the period. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Aflac by 1.6% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 11,953 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,261,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. 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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