Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan Sells 30,400 Shares of Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock

Key Points

• Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 30,400 Aflac shares on May 21 at an average price of $117.61, worth about $3.58 million. The transaction was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
• The insider has been steadily reducing its Aflac stake, including several other sales in the prior days and weeks. After the latest sale, it still owned more than 51.3 million shares valued at about $6.04 billion.
• Aflac shares were little changed in Tuesday trading at $117.29, near the stock’s 52-week high of $119.81. The company also recently reported quarterly earnings that missed EPS estimates, while announcing a $0.61 quarterly dividend.

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 30,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.61, for a total value of $3,575,344.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 51,362,645 shares in the company, valued at $6,040,760,678.45. This represents a 0.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 20th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 31,600 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.66, for a total value of $3,718,056.00.
• On Tuesday, May 19th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 50,000 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.80, for a total transaction 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 stock was 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 stock was sold at an average price of $116.42, for a total transaction of $2,852,290.00.
• On Wednesday, May 13th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 24,200 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.36, for a total transaction of $2,791,712.00.
• On Tuesday, May 12th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 24,300 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.97, for a total transaction of $2,818,071.00.
• On Monday, May 11th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 24,100 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.85, for a total transaction 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 transaction 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 transaction of $18,655,080.00.

Aflac Trading Down 0.5%

Aflac stock traded down $0.57 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $117.29. The company had a trading volume of 336,582 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,285,076. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $119.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $112.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $111.74. The stock has a market cap of $59.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.62.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders 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 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac's payout ratio is 27.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Barclays set a $99.00 price target on shares of Aflac and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $112.27.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. WNY Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the first quarter worth approximately $337,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the first quarter worth $10,069,000. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 389.5% in the first quarter. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. now owns 9,789 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,074,000 after buying an additional 7,789 shares during the last quarter. Groupe la Francaise acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the first quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Western Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 409.3% in the first quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,881 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,303,000 after buying an additional 9,548 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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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