Creative Planning increased its stake in Aetna Inc (NYSE:AET) by 10.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,201 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,196 shares during the period. Creative Planning’s holdings in Aetna were worth $1,319,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Janus Capital Management increased 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 during the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management boosted 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 valued at $159,226,000 after buying an additional 638,254 shares during the period. Jennison Associates boosted 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 valued at $111,038,000 after buying an additional 343,647 shares during the period. ING Groep boosted its stake in shares of Aetna by 3.3% in the third quarter. ING Groep now owns 139,106 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,220,000 after buying an additional 4,489 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group boosted 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 valued at $11,681,000 after buying an additional 23,174 shares during the period.

Shares of Aetna Inc (NYSE:AET) traded down 2.85% during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $98.79. The company had a trading volume of 3,899,056 shares. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.45 billion and a P/E ratio of 15.15. Aetna Inc has a 12-month low of $90.20 and a 12-month high of $134.40. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $107.31 and its 200-day moving average is $110.86.

Aetna (NYSE:AET) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.13. The firm earned $15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.79 EPS. Aetna’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Thursday, January 14th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 12th. This is an increase from Aetna’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Leerink Swann reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Aetna in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Aetna from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 19th. Jefferies Group cut 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 report on Friday, January 8th. Credit Suisse assumed coverage on shares of Aetna in a research report on Wednesday, December 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $111.00 price target on the stock. Finally, RBC Capital dropped their price target on shares of Aetna from $162.00 to $146.00 in a research report on Friday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $136.18.

In other Aetna news, EVP Margaret M. Mccarthy sold 18,373 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.97, for a total value of $2,020,478.81. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 63,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,984,744.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark T. Bertolini sold 26,996 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $80,211,340. 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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