Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan Sells 13,900 Shares of Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.33, for a total value of $1,686,487.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 50,844,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,168,986,237.70. The trade was a 0.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through 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 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 Thursday, August 13th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,000 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.09, for a total value of $1,574,170.00.
• 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 stock was 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 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 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 shares were sold at an average price of $117.00, for a total value of $3,100,500.00.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL traded down $2.80 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $118.93. 523,250 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,330,080. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $104.66 and a one year high of $130.22. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $121.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $116.04. 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 market cap of $59.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.73, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.60.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $4.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 26.91% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The company’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 company posted $1.78 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors 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 dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. Aflac’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

Institutional Trading of Aflac

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Stephens Inc. AR raised its stake in Aflac by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 21,945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,420,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 0.7% during the first quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 13,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,508,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in Aflac by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its holdings in Aflac by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 19,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,105,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $902,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AFL has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $122.00 price target on shares of Aflac and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Aflac from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Aflac from $117.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen cut Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $124.00 price objective (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $116.62.

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.