Stock Buyback Announcements Continue--Show Me The Dividend

The buyback train continues rolling down the track. If the companies committed to a dividend increase or a larger increase than reported, it could be a signal of better business prospects ahead. Following are stock buybacks announced today:

• Dover Corporation (DOV) announced it has approved a share repurchase program whereby the company will buy back approximately $500 million worth of Dover common stock. The program authorizes the repurchase of 10,000,000 shares or approximately 5% of its outstanding shares. As part of this program, the company also announced it has entered into an accelerated share repurchase agreement ("ASR") with Goldman, Sachs & Co. Under this agreement, the company will immediately repurchase 6 million shares of its common stock from Goldman, Sachs & Co. The company expects to conduct the remainder of the share repurchase program over the next 3-6 months through open market transactions. It will fund its share repurchases through cash on hand and existing credit facilities. The company also announced an 8% increase in the company's quarterly cash dividend to 20 cents per share versus 18.5 cents in the same quarter last year.
  

• Vineyard National Bancorp (VNBC) said Thursday it expanded a stock buyback program by $20 million to reassure shareholders amid a turbulent market.

• Pool Corp. (POOL) raised its share repurchase authorization to $100 million.

• AmerisourceBergen Corp. (ABC)agreed to a $250 million accelerated buyback deal with Bank of America NA.

• Hasbro Inc. (HAS) on Thursday said its board authorized the repurchase of $500 million in shares.

• Marriott International Inc. (MAR) increased its buyback program by 40 million shares, making the total repurchase program 51 million shares.

• FirstFed Financial Corp., (FED) the parent of First Federal Bank of California, said its board approved a plan to buy back an additional 1.5 million shares of common stock, about 10 percent of outstanding shares as of Aug. 1.

• Patterson-UTI Energy Inc. (PTEN) said its board has approved a stock buyback of up to $250 million.

• Invitrogen Corp., (IVGN)said it authorized a $500 million stock buyback program.

• Lufkin Industries Inc., (LUFK)said it had authorized up to $30 million in cash repurchases of common stock.