Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Major Shareholder Sells $385,836.00 in Stock

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 3,300 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.92, for a total value of $385,836.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 50,926,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,954,307,088.20. This trade represents a 0.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

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

• On Monday, June 22nd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 27,845 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.71, for a total transaction of $3,249,789.95.
• 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 transaction 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 transaction of $3,521,700.00.
• On Monday, June 15th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 28,800 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was 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 shares were 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 shares were sold at an average price of $117.20, for a total transaction of $5,684,200.00.
• On Wednesday, June 10th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 26,500 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.00, for a total transaction of $3,100,500.00.
• On Tuesday, June 9th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,800 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.43, for a total value of $1,477,504.00.
• On Monday, June 8th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,900 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.05, for a total value of $1,613,095.00.
• On Friday, June 5th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total value of $7,441,560.00.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $118.03 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $115.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $112.45. The stock has a market cap of $60.08 billion, a PE ratio of 13.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.61. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $96.95 and a one year high of $120.27.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th were paid a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Aflac’s payout ratio is presently 27.70%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Aflac by 64.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,507,000 after buying an additional 5,708 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $455,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the second quarter worth approximately $280,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 11.2% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 150,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,854,000 after acquiring an additional 15,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Aflac by 1.6% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 11,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,261,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AFL shares. Mizuho set a $104.00 price target on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.