Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Major Shareholder Sells $1,731,548.00 in Stock

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 14,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.94, for a total transaction of $1,731,548.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 50,830,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,198,269,950.60. This represents a 0.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Large shareholders that own more than 10% 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 Monday, August 17th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,900 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.33, for a total transaction of $1,686,487.00.
• On Friday, August 14th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 14,100 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.43, for a total transaction of $1,712,163.00.
• On Thursday, August 13th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,000 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.09, for a total value of $1,574,170.00.
• On Monday, June 22nd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 27,845 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.71, for a total value of $3,249,789.95.
• On Thursday, June 18th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 3,300 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.92, for a total value of $385,836.00.
• On Wednesday, June 17th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 26,300 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.62, for a total value of $3,067,106.00.
• On Tuesday, June 16th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 30,000 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.39, for a total value of $3,521,700.00.
• On Monday, June 15th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 28,800 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.17, for a total transaction of $3,374,496.00.
• On Friday, June 12th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 53,000 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.74, for a total transaction of $6,240,220.00.
• 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.

Aflac Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Aflac stock traded up $0.74 on Thursday, hitting $117.25. 300,470 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,333,891. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $104.66 and a one year high of $130.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.12 and a quick ratio of 0.12. The company has a fifty day moving average of $121.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $116.09. The company has a market capitalization of $58.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.60.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.01). Aflac had a net margin of 26.91% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The firm had revenue of $4.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on AFL shares. Mizuho set a $116.00 price objective on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, August 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings lowered Aflac from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $116.62.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. DNB Asset Management AS grew its position in Aflac by 51.3% during the fourth quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 168,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,526,000 after buying an additional 56,975 shares in the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,743,000. Atlas Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the first quarter worth about $1,802,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in shares of Aflac by 77.3% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 63,646 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,018,000 after purchasing an additional 27,751 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Investment Consultants LLC raised its stake in Aflac by 716.1% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 17,465 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,926,000 after purchasing an additional 15,325 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently 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.