Insider Selling: Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Major Shareholder Sells $1,762,050.00 in Stock

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.47, for a total value of $1,762,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 50,652,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,950,171,494.30. This represents a 0.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 Thursday, September 3rd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 20,000 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.49, for a total value of $2,369,800.00.
• On Wednesday, September 2nd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,500 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.19, for a total value of $1,582,065.00.
• On Tuesday, September 1st, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,800 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.77, for a total value of $1,481,856.00.
• On Monday, August 31st, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,700 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.00, for a total value of $1,473,200.00.
• On Friday, August 28th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,000 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.52, for a total transaction of $1,514,760.00.
• On Thursday, August 27th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,700 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.67, for a total transaction of $1,481,709.00.
• On Wednesday, August 26th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,200 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.35, for a total transaction of $1,549,020.00.
• On Tuesday, August 25th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,700 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.49, for a total transaction of $1,479,423.00.
• On Monday, August 24th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,500 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.02, for a total transaction of $1,593,270.00.
• On Friday, August 21st, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,900 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.28, for a total transaction of $1,500,012.00.

Aflac Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE AFL traded down $0.28 on Wednesday, reaching $114.88. 266,124 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,324,672. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $105.43 and a 12 month high of $130.22. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $121.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $116.30. The company has a market cap of $57.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $4.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 26.91%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Aflac’s payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Institutional Trading of Aflac

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AFL. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 11,094.0% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 86,458,157 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,137,219,000 after acquiring an additional 85,685,796 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Aflac during the second quarter valued at approximately $4,093,787,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth approximately $420,078,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Aflac in the second quarter worth approximately $404,639,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Aflac in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $298,418,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $108.00 target price (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Aflac from $117.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $116.62.

About Aflac

Aflac Incorporated is an insurance company that provides supplemental health and life insurance products. Its coverage is designed to help policyholders manage expenses that may not be fully covered by major medical insurance, including costs associated with accidents, illness, hospitalization, disability and critical illness.

Through its U.S. operations, Aflac markets policies to individuals, businesses and employees through workplace benefit programs, independent agents and brokers. The company is also a major provider of supplemental insurance in Japan, where it offers products focused primarily on cancer, medical and income-support coverage.

Founded in 1955 in Columbus, Georgia, as American Family Life Assurance Company, the business adopted the name Aflac in 1990.