Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Major Shareholder Sells $1,723,389.00 in Stock

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 15,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.77, for a total transaction of $1,723,389.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 52,100,900 shares in the company, valued at $5,719,115,793. This represents a 0.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own 10% or more 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 Friday, March 13th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 17,400 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.14, for a total transaction of $1,899,036.00.
• On Thursday, March 12th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 17,900 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.60, for a total transaction of $1,961,840.00.
• On Wednesday, March 11th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 18,100 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.53, for a total transaction of $1,982,493.00.
• 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 shares were sold at an average price of $109.62, for a total value 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 value of $2,115,707.00.
• On Thursday, March 5th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 19,300 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.96, for a total value of $2,141,528.00.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL traded down $0.43 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $107.49. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 537,845 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,269,501. 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 Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $119.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $111.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $110.35.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.45 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 21.24%.The company’s revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.57 EPS. Analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AFL. Morgan Stanley set a $120.00 price target on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, December 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Barclays set a $101.00 target price on shares of Aflac and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.73.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,142,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,301,056,000 after purchasing an additional 6,759,169 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Aflac by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,483,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $494,385,000 after buying an additional 69,025 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Aflac by 16.7% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,167,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $439,545,000 after buying an additional 594,971 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 2nd quarter worth about $432,201,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Aflac by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,926,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $438,621,000 after buying an additional 13,666 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

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.