Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan Sells 17,300 Shares of Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock

Key Points

• Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 17,300 Aflac shares on March 9 at an average price of $109.62 for about $1.896M, trimming its stake to 52,205,100 shares (a 0.03% reduction) valued at roughly $5.72B.
• The shareholder also sold 19,100 shares on March 6 and 19,300 shares on March 5 at similar prices, totaling 55,700 shares sold over the week and signaling consecutive insider dispositions.
• Aflac missed quarterly estimates with EPS of $1.57 versus $1.69 expected and revenue down 9.6% YoY; the stock trades near $109.89 with a $56.7B market cap and carries a consensus analyst rating of "Hold" with a $111.73 target.

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 17,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.62, for a total transaction of $1,896,426.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 52,205,100 shares in the company, valued at $5,722,723,062. The trade was a 0.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own at least 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 Friday, March 6th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 19,100 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.77, for a total transaction of $2,115,707.00.
• On Thursday, March 5th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 19,300 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.96, for a total transaction of $2,141,528.00.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL traded down $0.41 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $109.89. The company had a trading volume of 321,147 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,284,326. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $111.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $110.30. The company has a market capitalization of $56.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.97, a PEG ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $96.95 and a 12-month high of $119.32.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.12). Aflac had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 14.35%. The business had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.45 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.57 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Mizuho set a $107.00 price target on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Barclays set a $101.00 price target on Aflac and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $119.00 price target (up from $110.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $111.73.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 6,759,169 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Aflac by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,483,205 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $494,385,000 after purchasing an additional 69,025 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Aflac by 16.7% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,167,886 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $439,545,000 after buying an additional 594,971 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $432,201,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,926,777 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $438,621,000 after buying an additional 13,666 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

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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