Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock: Insider Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan Sells 13,500 Shares

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.20, for a total transaction of $1,555,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 50,493,590 shares in the company, valued at $5,816,861,568. The trade was a 0.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Large shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares 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, 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 value 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 transaction of $1,621,362.00.
• On Monday, September 14th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,600 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.74, for a total transaction 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 transaction of $1,611,960.00.
• On Thursday, September 10th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,300 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.32, for a total value of $1,520,456.00.
• On Tuesday, September 8th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,600 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.44, for a total value of $1,569,984.00.
• On Friday, September 4th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 15,000 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.47, for a total value of $1,762,050.00.
• 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 value of $2,369,800.00.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL traded down $0.61 on Friday, hitting $113.40. The company had a trading volume of 194,532 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,322,391. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $105.43 and a 52-week high of $130.22. The business has a 50 day moving average of $120.02 and a 200 day moving average of $116.56. The company has a market cap of $56.85 billion, a PE ratio of 12.15, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.59.

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 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.78 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on AFL shares. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $124.00 price target (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $99.00 target price (up from $98.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Mizuho set a $116.00 target price on Aflac in a research report on Monday, August 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Aflac from $117.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Aflac from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $116.62.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Aflac by 2.9% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 98,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,553,000 after acquiring an additional 2,752 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in Aflac by 10.3% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 4,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $535,000 after buying an additional 426 shares during the period. Andra AP fonden boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.6% during the second quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 38,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,538,000 after acquiring an additional 626 shares during the period. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA grew its position in shares of Aflac by 24.4% during the second quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA now owns 39,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,640,000 after acquiring an additional 7,752 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in Aflac by 137.4% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 40,904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,796,000 after purchasing an additional 23,677 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

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.