Aetna Company Profile (NYSE:AET)

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

Aetna declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 13th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share on Friday, July 28th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 11th. View Aetna's Dividend History.

Aetna announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Friday, April 7th 2017, which authorizes the company to repurchase $4,000,000,000.00 in outstanding shares, according to EventVestor. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 98% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Aetna Inc. (NYSE:AET) released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May, 2nd. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.35. The business earned $15.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.39 billion. Aetna had a net margin of 1.84% and a return on equity of 17.75%. The firm's revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.30 earnings per share. View Aetna's Earnings History.

Aetna is scheduled to release their next quarterly earnings announcement on Thursday, August, 3rd 2017. View Earnings Estimates for Aetna.

Aetna issued an update on its FY17 earnings guidance on Friday, May, 19th. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $8.80 to $9.00 for the period, compared to the Thomson Reuters consensus EPS estimate of $8.97.

20 analysts have issued 12 month price targets for Aetna's shares. Their forecasts range from $128.00 to $180.00. On average, they expect Aetna's share price to reach $153.24 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 expects long-term growth from its Government business. Cost-reduction initiatives, growing ACO collaborations pave the way for long-term growth. A strong balance sheet is another positive. Following a strong first quarter results, Aetna increased its earnings guidance. Year to date, the stock of Aetna has outperformed the Zacks categorized Medical Health Maintenance Organization industry. The stock has also witnessed an upward revision in earning estimates over the past 60 days. However, Aetna’s merger with Humana, which would have raised its rank in the industry, has been called off. Aetna has also 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." (7/4/2017)
• 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), 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
• Edward J. Ludwig, Lead Independent Director
• Fernando G. Aguirre, Independent Director

Aetna's stock is owned by many different of retail and institutional investors. Top institutional shareholders include Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. (0.49%), APG Asset Management N.V. (0.32%), NN Investment Partners Holdings N.V. (0.23%), PGGM Investments (0.21%), Focused Investors LLC (0.21%) and Harbour Capital Advisors LLC (0.15%). Company insiders that own Aetna stock include Francis S Soistman Jr, Franklin Barbara Hackman, Gary W Loveman, Jeffrey E Garten, Joseph M Zubretsky, 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 KAMES CAPITAL plc, Handelsbanken Fonder AB, Focused Investors LLC, APG Asset Management N.V., James Investment Research Inc., PGGM Investments, Sit Investment Associates Inc. and Russell Investments Group Ltd.. Company insiders that have sold Aetna stock in the last year include Francis S Soistman Jr, Jeffrey E Garten, Margaret M Mccarthy, Mark T Bertolini and Shawn M Guertin. View Insider Buying and Selling for Aetna.

Aetna's stock was bought by a variety of institutional investors in the last quarter, including Harbour Capital Advisors LLC, Bank of Montreal Can, Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC, Strs Ohio, Tavio Capital LLC, NN Investment Partners Holdings N.V., Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. and ING Groep NV. 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 $153.90.