Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan Sells 53,000 Shares of Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock

Key Points

• Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 53,000 Aflac shares on June 12 at an average price of $117.74, worth about $6.24 million, as part of a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
• The large shareholder has been actively trimming its Aflac stake, with multiple additional sales in the days leading up to the June 12 transaction.
• Aflac shares recently traded near $117.64, close to their 52-week high, while the company also reported quarterly EPS that missed analyst estimates despite stronger-than-expected revenue.

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 53,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.74, for a total transaction of $6,240,220.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 51,014,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,006,474,898.90. The trade was a 0.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible 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 transactions with the SEC.

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

• On Thursday, June 11th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 48,500 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.20, for a total value of $5,684,200.00.
• On Wednesday, June 10th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 26,500 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.00, for a total value of $3,100,500.00.
• On Tuesday, June 9th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,800 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.43, for a total transaction of $1,477,504.00.
• On Monday, June 8th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,900 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.05, for a total transaction of $1,613,095.00.
• On Friday, June 5th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total transaction of $7,441,560.00.
• On Wednesday, June 3rd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 16,300 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.19, for a total transaction of $1,877,597.00.
• On Tuesday, June 2nd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 9,750 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.39, for a total transaction of $1,105,552.50.
• On Monday, June 1st, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 9,060 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.53, for a total transaction of $1,019,521.80.
• On Friday, May 29th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 9,200 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.75, for a total transaction of $1,037,300.00.
• On Thursday, May 28th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 9,100 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.22, for a total value of $1,030,302.00.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL traded up $0.68 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $117.64. 742,726 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,370,601. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $114.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $112.04. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $96.95 and a 52-week high of $119.81. The company has a market cap of $59.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts' expectations of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.66 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th were 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 was Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac's payout ratio is presently 27.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AFL shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective 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 cut their price objective on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Mizuho set a $104.00 target price on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Aflac from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $112.27.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AFL. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Groupe la Francaise acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the first quarter worth $29,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Company Profile

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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