Aetna Company Profile (NYSE:AET)

Aetna trades on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol "AET."

Aetna announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share on Friday, October 27th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 11th. View Aetna's Dividend History.

Aetna declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, April 7th 2017, which permits the company to buyback $4,000,000,000.00 in shares, according to EventVestor. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 98% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Aetna Inc. (NYSE:AET) issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August, 3rd. The company reported $3.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the Zacks' consensus estimate of $2.34 by $1.08. The firm earned $15.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.34 billion. Aetna had a return on equity of 20.52% and a net margin of 2.52%. The firm's revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.21 earnings per share. View Aetna's Earnings History.

Aetna is scheduled to release their next quarterly earnings announcement on Tuesday, October, 31st 2017. View Earnings Estimates for Aetna.

Aetna updated its FY17 earnings guidance on Thursday, August, 3rd. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $9.45-9.55 for the period, compared to the Thomson Reuters consensus estimate of $8.99.

19 brokerages have issued twelve-month target prices for Aetna's stock. Their forecasts range from $132.00 to $185.00. On average, they expect Aetna's stock price to reach $163.69 in the next year. View Analyst Ratings for Aetna.

Here are some recent quotes from research analysts about Aetna stock:

• 1. According to Zacks Investment Research, "Aetna’s shares outperformed the industry year to date. We expect the company to derive long-term growth from its Government business. Cost-reduction initiatives and growing ACO collaborations pave the way for long-term growth. A strong balance sheet is another positive. Its International expansion is also perceived as an opportunity in the face of increased regulation in the U.S. Following strong second-quarter results, Aetna rasied its earnings guidance which cements investors' confidence in the company. The stock has seen the Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings being revised 6.3% upward over the last 90 days. Aetna has, however, been incurring losses in its public exchange business and has been exiting exchanges to avoid losses from this business. Furthermore, its membership growth remains under pressure. Increasing medical benefit ratios are also likely to hurt margins." (10/16/2017)
• 2. Cantor Fitzgerald analysts commented, "There is life after Humana. CEO Mark Bertolini opened the meeting discussing life after Humana. With a continued focus to grow its government business, Mr. Bertolini indicated that Humana represented a means to an end." Instead, AET will now chose to build its government business organically. We believe the company will also pursue acquisitions to build out its capabilities in specific geographies. CFO Shawn Guertin identified Medicare as a great growth opportunity, but characterized Medicaid as a good opportunity. Growth in Medicaid slowed recently due to two contract losses and potential for structural changes to Medicaid exist." (5/12/2017)
• 3. Royal Bank Of Canada analysts commented, "After the close on Monday, April 24, Humana pre-released 1Q17 EPS ahead of its investor meeting, which will be held on Tuesday, April 25. 1Q17 Adjusted EPS for the quarter was $2.75 vs. our estimate of $2.50 and FactSet consensus of $2.49." (4/24/2017)
• 4. Oppenheimer Holdings, Inc. analysts commented, "Overall, we believe Humana is well positioned for growth, given the political support in Washington, ample strategic capital to deploy and the potential for upside to its current earnings base."Ultimately, this will also remain a desirable asset that could be acquired by another insurer." (3/31/2017)
• 5. Jefferies Group LLC analysts commented, "AET's 4Q EPS was strong (beat by 13%), while initial 2017 guidance was below consensus on both the top and bottom line. As always, favorable prior period development (PPD) is excluded from the outlook and could generate upside. Looking to 2018, earnings growth should accelerate from buyback tailwinds and exiting HIX. We bump up our EPS projections for capital deployment, but remain Hold as the stock seems fairly valued." (2/1/2017)

Some companies that are related to Aetna include Anthem (ANTM), Cigna Corporation (CI), Humana (HUM), Centene Corporation (CNC), WellCare Health Plans (WCG), Molina Healthcare (MOH), Magellan Health (MGLN), Triple-S Management Corporation (GTS), Catamaran Corp (CTRX), Catamaran Corp (SXCI) and Universal American (UAM).

Aetna's management team includes the folowing people:

• Mark T. Bertolini, Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer
• Karen S. Lynch, President
• Shawn M. Guertin, Chief Financial Officer, Executive Vice President, Chief Enterprise Risk Officer
• Thomas J. Sabatino Jr., Executive Vice President, General Counsel
• Gary W. Loveman Ph.D., Executive Vice President - Consumer and Health Services
• Margaret M. McCarthy, Executive Vice President - Operations and Technology
• Harold L. Paz M.D., Executive Vice President, Chief Medical Officer
• Francis S. Soistman Jr., Executive Vice President - Government Services
• Sharon Virag, Chief Accounting Officer, Vice President, Controller
• Edward J. Ludwig, Lead Independent Director

Aetna's stock is owned by a variety of of institutional and retail investors. Top institutional shareholders include Fulton Bank N.A. (0.01%), Curbstone Financial Management Corp (0.00%) and Eqis Capital Management Inc. (0.00%). Company insiders that own Aetna stock include Francis S Soistman Jr, Gary W Loveman, Jeffrey E Garten, Karen S Lynch, Margaret M Mccarthy, Mark T Bertolini, Molly Joel Coye and Shawn M Guertin. View Institutional Ownership Trends for Aetna.

Aetna's stock was sold by a variety of institutional investors in the last quarter, including Eqis Capital Management Inc. and Fulton Bank N.A.. Company insiders that have sold Aetna stock in the last year include Francis S Soistman Jr, Karen S Lynch, Margaret M Mccarthy, Mark T Bertolini and Shawn M Guertin. View Insider Buying and Selling for Aetna.

Aetna's stock was acquired by a variety of institutional investors in the last quarter, including Curbstone Financial Management Corp. View Insider Buying and Selling for Aetna.

Shares of Aetna can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages include Vanguard Brokerage Services, TD Ameritrade, E*TRADE, Scottrade, Fidelity and Charles Schwab.

One share of Aetna stock can currently be purchased for approximately $157.64.