Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan Sells 13,000 Shares of Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.09, for a total transaction of $1,574,170.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 50,872,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,160,174,032.10. This trade represents a 0.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

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

• On Friday, August 14th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 14,100 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.43, for a total transaction of $1,712,163.00.
• 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 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 stock was 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 shares were 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 value 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 value 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.
• 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 value of $3,100,500.00.
• On Tuesday, June 9th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,800 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.43, for a total value of $1,477,504.00.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE:AFL opened at $121.74 on Wednesday. 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 Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $104.66 and a fifty-two week high of $130.22. The firm has a market cap of $61.03 billion, a PE ratio of 13.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $121.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $116.04.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on AFL. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $99.00 target price (up from $98.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Friday, August 7th. UBS Group restated 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. 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 Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $117.58.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. DNB Asset Management AS grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 51.3% during the fourth quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 168,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,526,000 after buying an additional 56,975 shares during the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,743,000. Atlas Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,802,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in Aflac by 77.3% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 63,646 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,018,000 after acquiring an additional 27,751 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Aflac by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,072,717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $118,256,000 after acquiring an additional 46,262 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by 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.