Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Major Shareholder Sells 12,000 Shares of Stock

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Monday, September 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.63, for a total value of $1,363,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 50,457,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,733,473,225.70. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan also recently made the following trade(s):

• 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 transaction of $1,387,144.00.
• On Wednesday, September 23rd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,500 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.20, for a total transaction of $1,555,200.00.
• On Monday, September 21st, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,200 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.49, for a total transaction of $1,408,978.00.
• On Friday, September 18th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,800 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was 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 value of $1,503,882.00.
• On Wednesday, September 16th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,800 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.49, for a total value of $1,621,362.00.
• On Monday, September 14th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,600 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were 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 stock was sold at an average price of $115.14, for a total transaction of $1,611,960.00.
• On Thursday, September 10th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,300 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.32, for a total value of $1,520,456.00.
• On Tuesday, September 8th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,600 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.44, for a total value of $1,569,984.00.

Aflac Stock Down 0.5%

AFL traded down $0.52 on Wednesday, reaching $113.14. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 128,507 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,309,807. The company has a market capitalization of $56.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.59. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $105.43 and a fifty-two week high of $130.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $119.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $116.64.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted 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 return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 26.91%.The firm had revenue of $4.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th were paid a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Aflac’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

Institutional Trading of Aflac

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 2.9% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 98,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,553,000 after purchasing an additional 2,752 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 426 shares in the last quarter. Andra AP fonden boosted its holdings in Aflac by 1.6% in the second quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 38,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,538,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares during the last quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 24.4% in the second quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA now owns 39,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,640,000 after buying an additional 7,752 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in Aflac by 137.4% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 40,904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,796,000 after purchasing an additional 23,677 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on AFL. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $103.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Aflac from $117.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $122.00 price target on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $99.00 price target (up from $98.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $124.00 price objective (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Two equities 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average 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.