Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan Sells 12,200 Shares of Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.43, for a total value of $1,322,846.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 52,088,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,647,977,741. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Large shareholders that own at least 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 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 value of $1,723,389.00.
• On Friday, March 13th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 17,400 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.14, for a total value of $1,899,036.00.
• On Thursday, March 12th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 17,900 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.60, for a total value 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 stock was sold at an average price of $109.62, for a total transaction of $1,896,426.00.
• On Friday, March 6th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 19,100 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.77, for a total transaction of $2,115,707.00.
• On Thursday, March 5th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 19,300 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.96, for a total transaction of $2,141,528.00.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL opened at $106.38 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $54.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.66. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $96.95 and a fifty-two week high of $119.32. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $111.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $110.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AFL. Morgan Stanley set a $120.00 price objective on Aflac in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Mizuho set a $107.00 price target on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, February 9th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $119.00 price target (up from $110.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Finally, Barclays set a $101.00 price objective on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.73.

Institutional Trading of Aflac

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Aflac by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,142,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,301,056,000 after acquiring an additional 6,759,169 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $494,385,000 after purchasing an additional 69,025 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 16.7% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,167,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $439,545,000 after purchasing an additional 594,971 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the second quarter valued at about $432,201,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Aflac by 0.3% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,926,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $438,621,000 after purchasing an additional 13,666 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Aflac

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.