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

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.78, for a total transaction of $1,601,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 52,046,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,557,557,304. The trade was a 0.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Major shareholders that own 10% or more 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 Friday, March 20th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 16,800 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.47, for a total transaction of $1,788,696.00.
• On Thursday, March 19th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 10,100 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.41, for a total value of $1,084,841.00.
• On Wednesday, March 18th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,200 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.43, for a total value of $1,322,846.00.
• On Tuesday, March 17th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 15,700 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.77, for a total value of $1,723,389.00.
• On Friday, March 13th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 17,400 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.14, for a total value of $1,899,036.00.
• On Thursday, March 12th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 17,900 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.60, for a total value of $1,961,840.00.
• On Wednesday, March 11th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 18,100 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.53, for a total value of $1,982,493.00.
• On Tuesday, March 10th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 19,000 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.47, for a total value of $2,098,930.00.
• On Monday, March 9th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 17,300 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.62, for a total transaction of $1,896,426.00.
• On Friday, March 6th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 19,100 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.77, for a total transaction of $2,115,707.00.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of Aflac stock traded up $0.41 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $106.61. 250,038 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,397,709. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $96.95 and a fifty-two week high of $119.32. The company has a market cap of $54.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $111.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $110.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.45 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 14.35%. Aflac’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on AFL. Barclays set a $101.00 price target on Aflac and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $119.00 price objective (up from $110.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.73.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of Aflac by 188.5% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Navalign LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

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.