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Aetna Board of Directors Increases Shareholder Dividend and Authorizes Quarterly Payment

^{Published on 2011-02-04 05:20:35 - Market Wire}
 

HARTFORD, Conn.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Aetna (NYSE: AET) today announced that its Board of Directors increased the companya™s cash dividend to shareholders and moved the company to a quarterly dividend payment cycle. The first quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share was declared on February 3, 2011, and will be paid on April 29, 2011 to all shareholders of record of Aetna common stock as of the close of business on April 14, 2011.

"The increased dividend is in keeping with Aetnaa™s continuing commitment to enhance total return for our shareholders."

aThe decision to increase the dividend is testimony to the confidence we have in our strategy, our financial profile and our cash flow,a said Ronald A. Williams, chairman. aThe increased dividend is in keeping with Aetnaa™s continuing commitment to enhance total return for our shareholders.a

Declaration and payment of future quarterly dividends is at the discretion of the Board and may be adjusted as business needs or market conditions change. Most recently, the Company paid a $0.04 per share annual dividend on November 30, 2010.

About Aetna

Aetna is one of the nationa™s leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving approximately 35.4 million people with information and resources to help them make better informed decisions about their health care. Aetna offers a broad range of traditional and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, group life and disability plans, and medical management capabilities and health care management services for Medicaid plans. Our customers include employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labor groups and expatriates. For more information, see [ www.aetna.com ].

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT -- Certain information in this press release is forward-looking, including the timing and amount of any future dividends. Forward-looking information is based on managementa™s estimates, assumptions and projections, and is subject to significant uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond Aetnaa™s control. Important risk factors could cause actual future results or other future events to differ materially from those currently estimated by management, particularly changes in Aetnaa™s future cash requirements, capital requirements, results of operations, financial condition and/or cash flows. For more discussion of important risk factors that may materially affect Aetna, please see the risk factors contained in Aetnaa™s 2009 Annual Report on Form 10-K (Aetnaa™s a2009 Annual Reporta) and Aetnaa™s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2010, June 30, 2010 and September 30, 2010 (Aetnaa™s a2010 Quarterly Reportsa), each on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the aSECa). You also should read Aetnaa™s 2009 Annual Report and Aetnaa™s 2010 Quarterly Reports on file with the SEC and Aetnaa™s 2010 Annual Report on Form 10-K when filed with the SEC for a discussion of Aetnaa™s historical results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.