Insider Selling: Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Major Shareholder Sells 19,300 Shares of Stock

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 19,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.96, for a total value of $2,141,528.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 52,241,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,796,716,840. This represents a 0.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Aflac Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE AFL traded down $1.20 on Monday, hitting $110.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,802,760 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,332,915. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $96.95 and a 52-week high of $119.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $111.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $110.27. The firm has a market cap of $56.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.00, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.66.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its 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). The business had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.45 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 14.35%. Aflac’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.57 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Stephens Inc. AR boosted its stake in Aflac by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 21,945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,420,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 19,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,105,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $902,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Confluence Wealth Services Inc. increased its holdings in Aflac by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 11,923 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,315,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AFL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Aflac from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $119.00 target price (up from $110.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Mizuho set a $107.00 price target on 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. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.73.

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.