HARTFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Board of Directors of Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) today announced the following actions:

• Declaration of a quarterly cash dividend of $0.175 per share on the company’s common stock. The dividend was declared on February 24, 2012, and is payable on April 27, 2012, to shareholders of record at the close of business on April 12, 2012; and
• Authorization for the company to repurchase up to an additional $750 million of its common stock from time to time. This authorization is in addition to the approximately $295 million of repurchase authority available under Aetna’s prior authorization as of February 23, 2012. The company intends to continue buying shares in the open market from time to time. At December 31, 2011, Aetna had approximately 349.7 million shares outstanding and approximately $422 million of repurchase authority available under its prior authorization.

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.

About Aetna

Aetna is one of the nation's leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving approximately 36.4 million people with information and resources to help them make better informed decisions about their health care. Aetna offers a broad range of traditional, voluntary and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, group life and disability plans, medical management capabilities, health care management services for Medicaid plans and health information exchange technology services. Our 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. For more information, see www.aetna.com.