Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Major Shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan Sells 86,155 Shares of Stock

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 86,155 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.24, for a total value of $9,756,192.20. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 51,636,945 shares in the company, valued at $5,847,367,651.80. This trade represents a 0.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a 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. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

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

• On Wednesday, April 8th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 166,000 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.38, for a total transaction of $18,655,080.00.
• On Tuesday, April 7th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 24,200 shares of Aflac stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.45, for a total transaction of $2,672,890.00.
• On Monday, April 6th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 21,500 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were 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 shares were 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 stock was sold at an average price of $107.41, for a total value of $1,084,841.00.
• 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.

Aflac Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of AFL stock opened at $112.11 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $57.76 billion, a PE ratio of 16.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $111.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $110.56. 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 announced 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). The company had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.45 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 21.24%.Aflac’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. Research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AFL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Aflac to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Mizuho set a $102.00 target price on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday. Evercore raised shares of Aflac from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Two 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.82.

Institutional Trading of Aflac

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AFL. J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth about $263,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in Aflac by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,061,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $117,186,000 after buying an additional 58,018 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in Aflac by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 342,092 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,722,000 after buying an additional 3,736 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors boosted its position in Aflac by 59.8% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 6,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $694,000 after buying an additional 2,357 shares during the period. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. 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.