Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan Sells 17,900 Shares of Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 17,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.60, for a total transaction of $1,961,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 52,150,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,715,650,960. The trade was a 0.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Major 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 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 Wednesday, March 11th, Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 18,100 shares of Aflac stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.53, for a total value 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 value 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 value 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 value 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 value of $2,141,528.00.

Aflac Stock Up 0.4%

AFL stock opened at $109.53 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $111.52 and a 200-day moving average of $110.37. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $96.95 and a fifty-two week high of $119.32. The company has a market capitalization of $56.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.92, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.66. 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 (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.45 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 14.35%. The company’s revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.57 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $119.00 target price (up from $110.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Aflac from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Barclays set a $101.00 price objective on Aflac and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.73.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AFL. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in Aflac by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 342,092 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,722,000 after purchasing an additional 3,736 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors boosted its position in Aflac by 59.8% during the fourth 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. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 543,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,032,000 after buying an additional 17,532 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Union Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth about $187,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.