Acadian Asset Management decreased its stake in Aetna Inc (NYSE:AET) by 60.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The hedge fund owned 332,564 shares of the company’s stock after selling 518,706 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management owned 0.09% of Aetna worth $35,958,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AET. Janus Capital Management raised its stake in Aetna by 23.6% in the third quarter. Janus Capital Management now owns 6,359,567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $695,800,000 after buying an additional 1,215,708 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management raised its stake in Aetna by 78.1% in the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management now owns 1,455,320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,226,000 after buying an additional 638,254 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates raised its stake in Aetna by 51.2% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates now owns 1,014,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,038,000 after buying an additional 343,647 shares in the last quarter. Quotient Investors raised its stake in Aetna by 260.0% in the fourth quarter. Quotient Investors now owns 34,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,737,000 after buying an additional 24,960 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group raised its stake in Aetna by 27.7% in the third quarter. KBC Group now owns 106,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,681,000 after buying an additional 23,174 shares in the last quarter.

Aetna Inc (NYSE:AET) traded down 1.94% during trading on Wednesday, reaching $102.94. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 508,798 shares. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $107.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $110.93. The company has a market cap of $35.90 billion and a P/E ratio of 15.79. Aetna Inc has a 52 week low of $90.20 and a 52 week high of $134.40.

Aetna (NYSE:AET) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.13. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.79 EPS. The business had revenue of $15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.22 billion. The business’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Aetna Inc will post $7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 14th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. This is a positive change from Aetna’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 12th.

AET has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Investment Research cut Aetna from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Aetna from $144.00 to $141.00 in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Credit Suisse initiated coverage on Aetna in a research report on Wednesday, December 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $111.00 target price for the company. Leerink Swann reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Aetna in a research report on Monday, November 23rd. Finally, RBC Capital decreased their target price on Aetna from $162.00 to $146.00 in a research report on Friday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. The stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $136.18.

In related news, CEO Mark T. Bertolini sold 26,996 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total value of $2,969,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 729,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $80,211,340. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Margaret M. Mccarthy sold 18,373 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.97, for a total transaction of $2,020,478.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 63,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,984,744.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Aetna Inc. is a diversified health care benefits company. The Company offers a range of traditional, voluntary and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services. The Company’s operations are conducted in three business segments: Health Care, Group Insurance and Large Case Pensions. The Company’s Health Care segment includes medical, pharmacy benefit management services, dental, behavioral health and vision plans. The Company’s Group Insurance segment’s products consist primarily of Life Insurance Products, Disability Insurance Products and Long-Term Care Insurance Products. The Company’s Large Case Pensions segment manages a variety of retirement products (NYSE:AET) primarily for tax-qualified pension plans. The Company’s customers include employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, health care providers, Governmental units, Government-sponsored plans, labor groups and expatriates.

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