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, May 19th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 11th. View Aetna's Dividend History.

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

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

Aetna is scheduled to release their next quarterly earnings announcement on Thursday, October, 26th 2017. View Earnings Estimates for Aetna.

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

18 brokerages have issued 1-year price targets for Aetna's shares. Their forecasts range from $132.00 to $185.00. On average, they anticipate Aetna's share price to reach $162.80 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 a number of of institutional and retail investors. Top institutional shareholders include BlackRock Inc. (8.81%), Vanguard Group Inc. (6.70%), Capital World Investors (6.25%), State Street Corp (6.22%), FMR LLC (4.14%) and Alliancebernstein L.P. (1.53%). 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 Renaissance Technologies LLC, Glenview Capital Management LLC, BlackRock Inc., Orbis Allan Gray Ltd, State Street Corp, Maverick Capital Ltd., Vanguard Group Inc. and HealthCor Management L.P.. 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 bought by a variety of institutional investors in the last quarter, including FMR LLC, Janus Henderson Group PLC, Capital World Investors, Samlyn Capital LLC, Harbour Capital Advisors LLC, Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC, Marshall Wace North America L.P. and Fred Alger Management Inc.. 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 $153.57.