Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan Sells 15,000 Shares of Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.47, for a total value of $1,762,050.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 50,652,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,950,171,494.30. This represents a 0.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

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

• On Thursday, September 3rd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 20,000 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.49, for a total transaction of $2,369,800.00.
• On Wednesday, September 2nd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,500 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.19, for a total transaction of $1,582,065.00.
• On Tuesday, September 1st, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,800 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.77, for a total transaction of $1,481,856.00.
• On Monday, August 31st, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,700 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.00, for a total transaction of $1,473,200.00.
• On Friday, August 28th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,000 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.52, for a total transaction of $1,514,760.00.
• On Thursday, August 27th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,700 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.67, for a total transaction of $1,481,709.00.
• On Wednesday, August 26th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,200 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.35, for a total transaction of $1,549,020.00.
• On Tuesday, August 25th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,700 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.49, for a total value of $1,479,423.00.
• On Monday, August 24th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,500 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.02, for a total value of $1,593,270.00.
• On Friday, August 21st, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,900 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.28, for a total value of $1,500,012.00.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of Aflac stock traded down $0.28 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $114.88. 266,124 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,324,672. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.33, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.59. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $105.43 and a 12-month high of $130.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.12 and a quick ratio of 0.12. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $121.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $116.30.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $4.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.11 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 26.91%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.78 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AFL. Weiss Ratings upgraded Aflac from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (up from $101.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $122.00 price objective on Aflac and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $124.00 target price (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $116.62.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in Aflac by 11,094.0% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 86,458,157 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,137,219,000 after buying an additional 85,685,796 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,093,787,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Aflac by 27.8% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,201,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $609,843,000 after acquiring an additional 1,132,091 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Aflac by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,550,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $499,216,000 after acquiring an additional 67,650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $420,078,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Company Profile

Aflac Incorporated is an insurance company that provides supplemental health and life insurance products. Its coverage is designed to help policyholders manage expenses that may not be fully covered by major medical insurance, including costs associated with accidents, illness, hospitalization, disability and critical illness.

Through its U.S. operations, Aflac markets policies to individuals, businesses and employees through workplace benefit programs, independent agents and brokers. The company is also a major provider of supplemental insurance in Japan, where it offers products focused primarily on cancer, medical and income-support coverage.

Founded in 1955 in Columbus, Georgia, as American Family Life Assurance Company, the business adopted the name Aflac in 1990.