WOONSOCKET, R.I.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--CVS/Caremark Corporation (NYSE:CVS) today announced that its Board of Directors has approved an increase in its quarterly dividend of approximately 23%, to 6¢ per share on the Common Stock of the Corporation, payable May 4, 2007 to holders of record on April 24, 2007. This increase translates into an annual rate of 24¢ per share, up 4.5¢ from the previous rate of 19.5¢.
"Our dividend was increased in January for the fourth consecutive year," stated Dave Rickard, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Administrative Officer of CVS/Caremark Corporation. "However, our recent merger with Caremark, and our expectations for strong financial performance of the combined company, led to the Board’s decision to increase the dividend to a level commensurate with Caremark’s former dividend. We look forward to continuing to enhance total return to our shareholders.”
CVS/Caremark is the nation's premier integrated pharmacy services provider, combining one of the nation's leading pharmaceutical services companies with the country's largest pharmacy chain. The company fills or manages more than one billion prescriptions per year, more than any other pharmacy services provider. CVS/Caremark drives value for pharmacy services customers by effectively managing pharmaceutical costs and improving healthcare outcomes through its 6,200 CVS/pharmacy stores; its pharmacy benefit management, mail order and specialty pharmacy division, Caremark Pharmacy Services; its retail-based health clinic subsidiary, MinuteClinic; and its online pharmacy, CVS.com. General information about CVS/Caremark is available through the Investor Relations portion of the Company's website, at http://investor.cvs.com, as well as through the pressroom portion of the Company's website, at www.cvs.com/pressroom.
