Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan Sells 30,000 Shares of Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.39, for a total value of $3,521,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 50,955,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,981,717,209.65. This represents a 0.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 transactions with the SEC.

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

• 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 shares were 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 transaction of $5,684,200.00.
• On Wednesday, June 10th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 26,500 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.00, for a total transaction of $3,100,500.00.
• On Tuesday, June 9th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,800 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.43, for a total transaction of $1,477,504.00.
• On Monday, June 8th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,900 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.05, for a total transaction of $1,613,095.00.
• On Friday, June 5th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total transaction of $7,441,560.00.
• On Wednesday, June 3rd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 16,300 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.19, for a total transaction of $1,877,597.00.
• On Tuesday, June 2nd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 9,750 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.39, for a total transaction of $1,105,552.50.
• On Monday, June 1st, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 9,060 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.53, for a total transaction of $1,019,521.80.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL traded down $0.63 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $115.61. 694,526 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,390,182. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $96.95 and a fifty-two week high of $119.81. The firm has a market cap of $58.84 billion, a PE ratio of 13.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $112.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th were paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.70%.

Institutional Trading of Aflac

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Aflac by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,142,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,301,056,000 after buying an additional 6,759,169 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth approximately $420,078,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 161.9% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,184,801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $349,405,000 after acquiring an additional 1,968,738 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 1,184.5% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,264,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $141,199,000 after acquiring an additional 1,165,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 390.7% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,111,711 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $122,588,000 after acquiring an additional 885,141 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on AFL shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Aflac from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Monday. Evercore raised shares of Aflac from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.27.

Aflac Company Profile

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.