Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Major Shareholder Sells $1,982,493.00 in Stock

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 18,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.53, for a total value of $1,982,493.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 52,168,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,713,961,040. The trade was a 0.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Major shareholders that own at least 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, 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 transaction of $2,098,930.00.
• On Monday, March 9th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 17,300 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was 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.
• On Thursday, March 5th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 19,300 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.96, for a total transaction of $2,141,528.00.

Aflac Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of AFL traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $109.47. 130,077 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,282,948. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $111.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $110.29. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $119.32. The company has a market cap of $56.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.66. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.45 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 21.24%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $119.00 price target (up from $110.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Aflac from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Barclays set a $101.00 target price on Aflac and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Three research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.73.

Institutional Trading of Aflac

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 64.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,507,000 after buying an additional 5,708 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $455,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 9.3% during the second quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 2,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 23.9% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 36,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,813,000 after buying an additional 6,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bailard Inc. raised its position in Aflac by 1.0% during the second quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 40,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,261,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.