Insider Selling: Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Major Shareholder Sells 14,200 Shares of Stock

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 14,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.94, for a total value of $1,731,548.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 50,830,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,198,269,950.60. The trade was a 0.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Large 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 Monday, August 17th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,900 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.33, for a total transaction of $1,686,487.00.
• 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 transaction 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 stock was sold at an average price of $116.92, for a total transaction 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 transaction 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 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 value of $3,374,496.00.
• On Friday, June 12th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 53,000 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was 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 shares were sold at an average price of $117.20, for a total value of $5,684,200.00.

Aflac Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE AFL traded up $0.74 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $117.25. 300,470 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,333,891. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $104.66 and a twelve month high of $130.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.57, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $121.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $116.09.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced 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 company had revenue of $4.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.78 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be given a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $138.00 price target (up from $130.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, August 10th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $124.00 price objective (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Mizuho set a $116.00 price objective on Aflac in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $99.00 target price (up from $98.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Friday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned 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 stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $116.62.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Two Sigma Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $499,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 5.8% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 94,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,111,000 after acquiring an additional 5,229 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.2% in the second quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 42,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,975,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.6% in the second quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 36,505 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,280,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust increased its position in Aflac by 0.8% during the second quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 21,365 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,505,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is 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.