Aetna investors OK extra $750M stock buyback

Stockholders in Aetna Inc. voted Friday for the Hartford health insurer to buy back another $750 million of its stock from time time, pushing its buyback authorization to more than $1 billion.

The company intends to continue buying shares in the open market from time to time. At March 31, 2011, Aetna had approximately 380 million shares outstanding.  

After the meeting, Aetna directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of 15 cents a share to be paid July 29 to stockholders of record as of July 14.

At the meeting in separate non-binding advisory votes, shareholders approved the compensation paid to Aetna’s named executive officers for 2010 and resolved that shareholders should have an advisory vote each year on executive pay.