Handelsbanken Fonder AB decreased its position in Aetna Inc. (NYSE:AET) by 83.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 37,732 shares of the company’s stock after selling 185,000 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Aetna were worth $5,729,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in shares of Aetna by 3,374.9% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 30,712,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,917,344,000 after buying an additional 29,828,390 shares during the last quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Aetna during the fourth quarter valued at about $335,443,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Aetna by 3.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,117,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,948,640,000 after buying an additional 838,578 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Aetna by 26.0% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,639,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $464,165,000 after buying an additional 751,166 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. increased its stake in Aetna by 29.2% in the first quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 2,376,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $303,076,000 after buying an additional 537,604 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.72% of the company’s stock.
Aetna Inc. (NYSE:AET) traded up 0.15% during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $154.54. 1,476,528 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.99 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $153.03 and its 200-day moving average is $137.18. Aetna Inc. has a 12-month low of $104.59 and a 12-month high of $157.55.
Aetna (NYSE:AET) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 2nd. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.35. Aetna had a net margin of 1.84% and a return on equity of 17.75%. The firm had revenue of $15.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.39 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Aetna Inc. will post $8.99 earnings per share for the current year.
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 13th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 11th. Aetna’s payout ratio is currently 62.31%.
Several brokerages have commented on AET. CIBC reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Aetna in a report on Monday, April 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 price objective on shares of Aetna in a research note on Monday, April 24th. Bank of America Corp reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $168.00 price objective (up from $160.00) on shares of Aetna in a research note on Wednesday, May 17th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Aetna in a research report on Tuesday, June 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $162.00 target price for the company. Finally, Zacks Investment Research raised Aetna from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Aetna presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $152.84.
In other Aetna news, Chairman Mark T. Bertolini sold 103,547 shares of Aetna stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.79, for a total transaction of $14,578,382.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 659,888 shares in the company, valued at $92,905,631.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Margaret M. Mccarthy sold 27,028 shares of Aetna stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.23, for a total transaction of $4,033,388.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 33,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,008,606.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
About Aetna
Aetna Inc is a diversified healthcare benefits company. The Company operates through three segments: Health Care, Group Insurance and Large Case Pensions. It offers a range of traditional, voluntary and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, group life and disability plans, medical management capabilities, Medicaid healthcare management services, Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplement plans, workers’ compensation administrative services and health information technology (HIT) products and services.
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