Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan Sells 9,100 Shares of Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 9,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.22, for a total value of $1,030,302.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 51,293,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,807,398,554.90. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 Wednesday, May 27th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 11,400 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.50, for a total value of $1,316,700.00.
• On Tuesday, May 26th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 18,000 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.03, for a total value of $2,106,540.00.
• On Friday, May 22nd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 31,100 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.78, for a total value of $3,662,958.00.
• On Thursday, May 21st, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 30,400 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.61, for a total value of $3,575,344.00.
• 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 value 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 shares were 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 shares were 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 shares were sold at an average price of $115.36, for a total transaction of $2,791,712.00.

Aflac Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of AFL traded up $0.34 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $112.76. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 398,949 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,340,402. The business has a fifty day moving average of $113.08 and a 200 day moving average of $111.77. The company has a market cap of $57.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.61. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $96.95 and a 1 year high of $119.81. 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) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts’ expectations of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. Aflac’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.66 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be given a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is 27.70%.

Institutional Trading of Aflac

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Stephens Inc. AR increased its position in Aflac by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 21,945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,420,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Compound Planning Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 13,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,508,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 4.5% during the 4th 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 boosted its holdings in Aflac by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 19,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,105,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on AFL shares. Evercore upgraded Aflac from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Aflac from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $112.27.

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.