Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Major Shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan Sells 11,900 Shares of Company Stock

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 11,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.18, for a total value of $1,323,042.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 50,433,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,607,184,300.20. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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 Tuesday, September 29th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,100 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.36, for a total transaction of $1,371,656.00.
• On Monday, September 28th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,000 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.63, for a total transaction of $1,363,560.00.
• On Thursday, September 24th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,100 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.64, for a total transaction of $1,387,144.00.
• On Wednesday, September 23rd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,500 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.20, for a total transaction of $1,555,200.00.
• On Monday, September 21st, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,200 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.49, for a total transaction of $1,408,978.00.
• On Friday, September 18th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,800 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.22, for a total transaction of $1,487,616.00.
• On Thursday, September 17th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,900 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.58, for a total transaction of $1,503,882.00.
• On Wednesday, September 16th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,800 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.49, for a total value of $1,621,362.00.
• On Monday, September 14th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,600 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.74, for a total value of $1,587,664.00.
• On Friday, September 11th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 14,000 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.14, for a total value of $1,611,960.00.

Aflac Trading Up 0.8%

AFL stock traded up $0.87 during trading on Monday, hitting $112.41. 1,920,173 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,309,920. The company has a 50-day moving average of $118.60 and a 200-day moving average of $116.68. 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 1 year low of $105.43 and a 1 year high of $130.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.36 billion, a PE ratio of 12.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.56.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 26.91%.The company had revenue of $4.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.11 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. Aflac’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were given a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on AFL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Aflac from $117.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $103.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Aflac from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $116.62.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Compound Planning Inc. grew its position in shares of Aflac by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 13,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,508,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Studio Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 7,650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $897,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Aflac by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC now owns 3,935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $432,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Apella Capital LLC boosted its stake in Aflac by 2.7% during the second quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 4,154 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $505,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Secure Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Aflac by 1.7% during the second quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 6,697 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $785,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Company Profile

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE: AFL) is an insurance company that provides supplemental health and life insurance products to individuals, employers and groups. Its coverage is designed to help policyholders manage expenses that may not be fully covered by major medical insurance, including costs associated with illness, injury and other qualifying events.

The company’s products include accident, cancer, critical illness, hospital indemnity, disability, dental, vision and life insurance. Aflac distributes its policies through workplace benefits programs, independent agents, brokers and other distribution channels.

Founded in 1955 as American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus, Aflac has its headquarters in Columbus, Georgia.