Key Points
- Aflac major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 30,000 shares on June 16 at an average price of $117.39, totaling about $3.52 million. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, and the holder still owns more than 50.9 million shares.
- The shareholder has been steadily trimming its Aflac stake with multiple sales in early-to-mid June, including several larger transactions over the prior two weeks. Despite the repeated selling, the position remains extremely large and only slightly reduced.
- Aflac’s stock and fundamentals remain relatively stable, with shares recently trading around $115.50 near their 52-week high. The company reported mixed quarterly results, paying a $0.61 dividend and maintaining a 2.1% yield, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold.
Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.39, for a total transaction of $3,521,700.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 50,955,935 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,981,717,209.65. This represents a 0.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal 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. Large shareholders that own more than 10% of a company's stock 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, 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 transaction 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 stock was sold at an average price of $117.20, for a total value 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 value of $3,100,500.00.
- On Tuesday, June 9th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,800 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.43, for a total value of $1,477,504.00.
- On Monday, June 8th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,900 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.05, for a total value of $1,613,095.00.
- On Friday, June 5th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total value 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 value of $1,877,597.00.
- On Tuesday, June 2nd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 9,750 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was 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 Stock Performance
NYSE:AFL opened at $115.50 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $96.95 and a twelve month 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 50-day moving average of $115.17 and a 200-day moving average of $112.17. The firm has a market cap of $58.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.61.
Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The business had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Aflac Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were given a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Aflac's payout ratio is 27.70%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
AFL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Aflac from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays set a $99.00 price objective on Aflac and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $112.27.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on AFL
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac
Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Groupe la Francaise purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the first quarter worth $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the first quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company's stock.
Aflac Company Profile
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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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