Key Points
- Major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 16,300 Aflac shares on June 3 at an average price of $115.19, totaling about $1.88 million. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, and the stake declined only 0.03%.
- Post Holdings has been steadily trimming its Aflac position with multiple sales in late May and early June, including several larger transactions earlier in the month. Despite the selling, it still owns more than 51.2 million shares valued at roughly $5.9 billion.
- Aflac’s stock recently traded near its 52-week high, opening at $118.37 versus a high of $119.81. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.61, equal to an annualized yield of about 2.1%.
Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 16,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.19, for a total transaction of $1,877,597.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 51,248,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,903,341,784.65. This represents a 0.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Major shareholders that own more than 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, 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.
- On Friday, May 29th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 9,200 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.75, for a total transaction of $1,037,300.00.
- On Thursday, May 28th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 9,100 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.22, for a total transaction of $1,030,302.00.
- 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 transaction of $1,316,700.00.
- On Tuesday, May 26th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 18,000 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.03, for a total transaction of $2,106,540.00.
- On Friday, May 22nd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 31,100 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.78, for a total transaction 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 transaction 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 transaction of $3,718,056.00.
- On Tuesday, May 19th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 50,000 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.80, for a total transaction of $5,940,000.00.
Aflac Stock Up 2.7%
AFL stock opened at $118.37 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $96.95 and a 12 month high of $119.81. The firm has a market cap of $60.25 billion, a PE ratio of 13.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $113.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $111.80. 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 - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.66 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Aflac Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th were given a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is 27.70%.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Stephens Inc. AR lifted its position in Aflac by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 21,945 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,420,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. lifted its position in Aflac by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 13,743 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,508,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in Aflac by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,119 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $234,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its position in Aflac by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 19,088 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,105,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its position in Aflac by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,702 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $902,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays set a $99.00 price target on shares of Aflac and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Evercore upgraded shares of Aflac from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued 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 upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. One investment 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 MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $112.27.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on AFL
About Aflac
(
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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