Key Points
- Major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 9,100 Aflac shares on May 28 at an average price of $113.22, totaling about $1.03 million. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
- The insider has been steadily reducing its Aflac stake with multiple sales in the days leading up to the transaction, including larger blocks on May 19 and May 18. After the latest sale, it still held more than 51.29 million shares.
- Aflac’s stock and fundamentals remain relatively stable, with shares recently trading around $112.30, a 2.2% dividend yield, and institutional ownership at 67.44%. Analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with a price target of $112.27.
Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 9,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.22, for a total transaction of $1,030,302.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,293,045 shares in the company, valued at $5,807,398,554.90. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Large shareholders that own more than 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 Wednesday, May 27th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 11,400 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.50, for a total value of $1,316,700.00.
- On Tuesday, May 26th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 18,000 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.03, for a total value of $2,106,540.00.
- On Friday, May 22nd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 31,100 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.78, for a total value of $3,662,958.00.
- On Thursday, May 21st, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 30,400 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.61, for a total value of $3,575,344.00.
- On Wednesday, May 20th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 31,600 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.66, for a total value of $3,718,056.00.
- On Tuesday, May 19th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 50,000 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.80, for a total value of $5,940,000.00.
- 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 transaction 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.
Aflac Stock Performance
Shares of AFL stock opened at $112.30 on Tuesday. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $96.95 and a one year high of $119.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $113.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $111.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.62.
Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.66 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.70%.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,142,072 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,301,056,000 after purchasing an additional 6,759,169 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth about $420,078,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Aflac by 161.9% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,184,801 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $349,405,000 after purchasing an additional 1,968,738 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Aflac by 1,184.5% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,264,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $141,199,000 after buying an additional 1,165,676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Aflac by 390.7% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,111,711 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $122,588,000 after buying an additional 885,141 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Mizuho set a $104.00 target price on Aflac in a report on Monday, May 4th. 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. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $130.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $112.27.
Get Our Latest 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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