Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Major Shareholder Sells 11,900 Shares of Company Stock

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 11,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.18, for a total value of $1,323,042.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 50,433,390 shares in the company, valued at $5,607,184,300.20. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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 Tuesday, September 29th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,100 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.36, for a total value of $1,371,656.00.
• On Monday, September 28th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,000 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.63, for a total value of $1,363,560.00.
• On Thursday, September 24th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,100 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.64, for a total value of $1,387,144.00.
• On Wednesday, September 23rd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,500 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.20, for a total value of $1,555,200.00.
• On Monday, September 21st, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,200 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.49, for a total value of $1,408,978.00.
• On Friday, September 18th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,800 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.22, for a total transaction of $1,487,616.00.
• On Thursday, September 17th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,900 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.58, for a total transaction of $1,503,882.00.
• On Wednesday, September 16th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,800 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.49, for a total transaction of $1,621,362.00.
• On Monday, September 14th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,600 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.74, for a total transaction of $1,587,664.00.
• On Friday, September 11th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 14,000 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.14, for a total transaction of $1,611,960.00.

Aflac Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:AFL traded up $0.87 during trading on Monday, reaching $112.41. 1,920,173 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,309,920. The stock has a market cap of $56.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $118.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $116.68. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $105.43 and a 52-week high of $130.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.12.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $4.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Aflac during the third quarter valued at $205,000. CX Institutional grew its holdings in Aflac by 7.6% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 4,772 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $533,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC increased its position in Aflac by 1.7% in the third quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 59,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,640,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Aflac by 2.9% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 98,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,553,000 after buying an additional 2,752 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 10.3% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 4,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $535,000 after buying an additional 426 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AFL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $124.00 price target (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings raised Aflac from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Mizuho set a $116.00 target price on Aflac in a research report on Monday, August 10th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price target (up from $101.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $116.62.

Aflac Company Profile

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE: AFL) is an insurance company that provides supplemental health and life insurance products to individuals, employers and groups. Its coverage is designed to help policyholders manage expenses that may not be fully covered by major medical insurance, including costs associated with illness, injury and other qualifying events.

The company’s products include accident, cancer, critical illness, hospital indemnity, disability, dental, vision and life insurance. Aflac distributes its policies through workplace benefits programs, independent agents, brokers and other distribution channels.

Founded in 1955 as American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus, Aflac has its headquarters in Columbus, Georgia.