Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Major Shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan Sells 10,100 Shares of Stock

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 10,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.41, for a total value of $1,084,841.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 52,078,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,593,762,426. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Major shareholders that own at least 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 Wednesday, March 18th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,200 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.43, for a total value 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 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 transaction 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 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 transaction 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 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 Stock Performance

NYSE AFL opened at $106.55 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $111.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $110.37. The company has a market capitalization of $54.89 billion, a PE ratio of 15.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.66. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $96.95 and a 1 year high of $119.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 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 firm had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho set a $107.00 price objective on Aflac in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $119.00 target price (up from $110.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.73.

Institutional Trading of Aflac

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $432,201,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Aflac by 1,184.5% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,264,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $141,199,000 after purchasing an additional 1,165,676 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in Aflac by 390.7% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,111,711 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $122,588,000 after purchasing an additional 885,141 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Aflac by 132.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,227,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $137,078,000 after purchasing an additional 699,080 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

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.