Key Points
- Aflac major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 50,000 shares on May 19 at an average price of $118.80, worth about $5.94 million. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan, and the insider still owns more than 51.4 million shares.
- The shareholder has been consistently trimming its Aflac stake, with multiple additional sales reported in the surrounding days and weeks, including several transactions in May and April. The latest sale was a small 0.10% reduction in its position.
- Aflac shares were modestly higher, opening at $117.74 and trading up about 0.4%. The company recently reported quarterly earnings of $1.75 per share, slightly below estimates, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share.
Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.80, for a total value of $5,940,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 51,424,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,109,247,826. The trade was a 0.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Major shareholders that own at least 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, May 18th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 41,700 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.45, for a total value of $4,939,365.00.
- On Friday, May 15th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 23,500 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.85, for a total value of $2,745,975.00.
- On Thursday, May 14th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 24,500 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.42, for a total transaction of $2,852,290.00.
- On Wednesday, May 13th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 24,200 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.36, for a total transaction of $2,791,712.00.
- On Tuesday, May 12th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 24,300 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.97, for a total transaction of $2,818,071.00.
- On Monday, May 11th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 24,100 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.85, for a total transaction of $2,767,885.00.
- On Thursday, April 9th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 86,155 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.24, for a total transaction of $9,756,192.20.
- On Wednesday, April 8th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 166,000 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.38, for a total transaction of $18,655,080.00.
- On Tuesday, April 7th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 24,200 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.45, for a total transaction of $2,672,890.00.
- On Monday, April 6th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 21,500 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.34, for a total transaction of $2,372,310.00.
Aflac Trading Up 0.4%
NYSE AFL opened at $117.74 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $119.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market capitalization of $59.93 billion, a PE ratio of 13.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.62. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $112.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $111.60.
Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Aflac Dividend Announcement
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is 27.70%.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac
Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Stephens Inc. AR boosted its holdings in Aflac by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 21,945 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,420,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Compound Planning Inc. boosted its holdings in Aflac by 0.7% during the first quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 13,743 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,508,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Aflac by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,119 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $234,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its holdings in Aflac by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 19,088 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,105,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Aflac by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,702 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $902,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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. Mizuho set a $104.00 target price on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Barclays set a $99.00 target price on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $111.82.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Aflac
Aflac Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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