Aetna Inc (NYSE:AET) has received a “BBB+” credit rating from analysts at Morningstar. The firm’s “BBB+” rating indicates that the company is a moderate default risk. They also gave their stock a one star rating.

Shares of Aetna (NYSE:AET) opened at 107.58 on Monday. Aetna has a 12-month low of $90.20 and a 12-month high of $134.40. The company has a market capitalization of $37.51 billion and a PE ratio of 16.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $107.33 and its 200-day moving average is $111.10.

Aetna (NYSE:AET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.13. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.79 earnings per share. The firm had revenue of $15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.22 billion. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Aetna will post $7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is a positive change from Aetna’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 12th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%.

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

Other large investors recently modified their holdings of the company. Jennison Associates raised its stake in shares of Aetna by 51.2% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates now owns 1,014,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,038,000 after buying an additional 343,647 shares during the last quarter. Gerstein Fisher raised its stake in shares of Aetna by 11.4% in the third quarter. Gerstein Fisher now owns 2,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Ken Stern & Associates raised its stake in shares of Aetna by 21.5% in the third quarter. Ken Stern & Associates now owns 5,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $603,000 after buying an additional 976 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group raised its stake in shares of Aetna by 27.7% in the third quarter. KBC Group now owns 106,772 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,681,000 after buying an additional 23,174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management raised its stake in shares of Aetna by 78.1% in the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management now owns 1,455,320 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,226,000 after buying an additional 638,254 shares during the last quarter.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on AET. Leerink Swann reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Aetna in a research note on Monday, November 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Aetna from $144.00 to $141.00 in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Credit Suisse reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Aetna in a research note on Thursday, December 17th. RBC Capital dropped their price target on shares of Aetna from $162.00 to $146.00 in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Group downgraded shares of Aetna from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $122.00 in a research note on Friday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Aetna presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $136.18.

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.

12 Month Chart for NYSE:AET

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