Insider Selling: Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Major Shareholder Sells 9,100 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Aflac major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 9,100 shares on Thursday at an average price of $113.22, generating about $1.03 million. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan and reduced its position by only 0.02%.
• Post Holdings has been consistently trimming its Aflac stake, with multiple sales reported in the days leading up to this transaction. The insider still owns more than 51.29 million shares, valued at roughly $5.8 billion.
• Aflac shares were trading around $112.76, near their 50-day and 200-day moving averages, while analysts currently rate the stock a Hold on average with a consensus price target of $112.27.

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 9,100 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.22, for a total value of $1,030,302.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 51,293,045 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,807,398,554.90. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 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 Wednesday, May 27th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 11,400 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.50, for a total value of $1,316,700.00.
• On Tuesday, May 26th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 18,000 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.03, for a total value of $2,106,540.00.
• On Friday, May 22nd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 31,100 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.78, for a total transaction 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 value of $3,575,344.00.
• On Wednesday, May 20th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 31,600 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.66, for a total transaction of $3,718,056.00.
• On Tuesday, May 19th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 50,000 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was 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 shares were sold at an average price of $115.36, for a total value of $2,791,712.00.

Aflac Price Performance

Aflac stock traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $112.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 398,949 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,340,402. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $96.95 and a fifty-two 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $113.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $111.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.39 billion, a PE ratio of 12.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.61.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS 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 business had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.66 EPS. Aflac's revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac's payout ratio is currently 27.70%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Aflac by 64.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 5,708 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its position in Aflac by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $455,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at about $280,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in Aflac by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 150,334 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $15,854,000 after acquiring an additional 15,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Aflac by 1.6% in the 2nd 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 and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Aflac and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Aflac from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a report on Friday. Evercore raised shares of Aflac from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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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