Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan Sells 31,600 Shares of Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock

Key Points

• Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 31,600 Aflac shares on May 20 at an average price of $117.66, generating about $3.72 million. The transaction was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
• The insider has been actively trimming its Aflac position, with multiple sales in May and April. After the latest sale, it still owned about 51.39 million shares valued at roughly $6.05 billion.
• Aflac shares recently traded near $117.97, close to their 52-week high of $119.81. The company also reported mixed quarterly results, with EPS missing estimates but revenue coming in slightly above expectations, and it declared a $0.61 quarterly dividend.

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 31,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.66, for a total transaction of $3,718,056.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 51,393,045 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,046,905,674.70. This represents a 0.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 sales and purchases with the SEC.

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

• 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 stock was sold at an average price of $118.45, for a total value 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 value 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.
• 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 value 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 value of $2,767,885.00.
• On Thursday, April 9th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 86,155 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were 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 shares were 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 transaction of $2,672,890.00.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE AFL traded up $0.16 on Friday, reaching $117.97. 797,908 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,289,637. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $96.95 and a one year high of $119.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.05 billion, a PE ratio of 13.39, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.62. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $112.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $111.60.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.66 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors 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 of this dividend is Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFL has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore raised shares of Aflac from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Barclays set a $99.00 target price on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Aflac from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Aflac from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $111.82.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 64.4% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the second quarter valued at about $280,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 15,105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of 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 worth $1,261,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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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