Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Major Shareholder Sells $2,672,890.00 in Stock

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 24,200 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.45, for a total transaction of $2,672,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,889,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,731,151,095. This trade represents a 0.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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 sales and purchases with the SEC.

Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan also recently made the following trade(s):

• 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.
• On Thursday, April 2nd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 20,100 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.20, for a total transaction of $2,215,020.00.
• On Wednesday, April 1st, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 19,600 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.85, for a total transaction of $2,153,060.00.
• On Wednesday, March 25th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 14,200 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.03, for a total transaction of $1,519,826.00.
• On Monday, March 23rd, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 15,000 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.78, for a total transaction of $1,601,700.00.
• On Friday, March 20th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 16,800 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.47, for a total transaction of $1,788,696.00.
• On Thursday, March 19th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 10,100 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.41, for a total transaction of $1,084,841.00.
• On Wednesday, March 18th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,200 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.43, for a total transaction of $1,322,846.00.
• On Tuesday, March 17th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 15,700 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.77, for a total transaction of $1,723,389.00.
• 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.

Aflac Trading Up 0.0%

Aflac stock traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $113.05. 236,898 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,338,582. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $96.95 and a fifty-two week high of $119.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.44, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.66. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $111.39 and its 200-day moving average is $110.47.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.45 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 14.35%. The business’s revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Aflac

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Aflac by 64.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,507,000 after acquiring an additional 5,708 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Aflac by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $455,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its position in shares of Aflac by 4.9% during the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 31,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,311,000 after purchasing an additional 1,480 shares during the period. StoneX Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Aflac by 16.0% during the second quarter. StoneX Group Inc. now owns 4,948 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $522,000 after purchasing an additional 681 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in Aflac by 6,692.2% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 291,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,758,000 after buying an additional 287,362 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on AFL shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley set a $120.00 price target on Aflac in a report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Barclays set a $101.00 target price on Aflac and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “hold” rating and set a $113.00 target price on shares of Aflac in a report on Thursday, March 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.00.

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.