Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan Sells 24,200 Shares of Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock

Key Points

• Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 24,200 Aflac shares on May 13 at an average price of $115.36, continuing a string of recent insider sales under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan.
• Aflac reported Q1 earnings of $1.75 per share, which missed analyst expectations, though revenue of $4.24 billion came in slightly above estimates and rose 27.9% year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share payable June 1, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with an average price target of $111.36.

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 24,200 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.36, for a total value of $2,791,712.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 51,564,345 shares in the company, valued at $5,948,462,839.20. This represents a 0.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Large shareholders that own 10% or more 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, May 12th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 24,300 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.97, for a total value of $2,818,071.00.
• On Monday, May 11th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 24,100 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.85, for a total value of $2,767,885.00.
• On Thursday, April 9th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 86,155 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.24, for a total value of $9,756,192.20.
• On Wednesday, April 8th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 166,000 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.38, for a total value of $18,655,080.00.
• On Tuesday, April 7th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 24,200 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.45, for a total value of $2,672,890.00.
• On Monday, April 6th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 21,500 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.34, for a total value of $2,372,310.00.
• On Thursday, April 2nd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 20,100 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.20, for a total transaction of $2,215,020.00.
• On Wednesday, April 1st, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 19,600 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.85, for a total value of $2,153,060.00.
• On Wednesday, March 25th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 14,200 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.03, for a total value of $1,519,826.00.
• On Monday, March 23rd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 15,000 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.78, for a total value of $1,601,700.00.

Aflac Price Performance

NYSE AFL traded up $0.68 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $117.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 302,017 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,293,903. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.62. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $119.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. The company's 50-day moving average is $111.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $111.22.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.66 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.12 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA acquired a new position in Aflac in the first quarter valued at approximately $750,000. Waverly Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Aflac by 11.4% during the first quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 21,614 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,371,000 after purchasing an additional 2,206 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Aflac by 382.1% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 667,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $73,253,000 after purchasing an additional 529,200 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in Aflac during the first quarter worth $444,000. Finally, Compound Planning Inc. lifted its stake in Aflac by 0.7% during the first quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 13,743 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,508,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on AFL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Mizuho set a $104.00 price objective on Aflac in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Barclays set a $99.00 price objective on Aflac and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $111.36.

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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