Buyback activity almost doubled last week with 18 companies announcing buybacks compared to only 8 companies in the prior week. The biggest buyback announcement in dollar terms was by Mastercard Incorporated (MA). Mastercard announced a $9 billion share buyback following the completion of its previous share repurchase program of $8 billion announced in November 2021. The company has bought back more than 7% of its shares outstanding since Q3 2018. During the third quarter of 2022, Mastercard repurchased 4.7 million shares at a cost of $1.6 billion and paid $474 million in dividends. Investment research services provider, Morningstar, Inc. (MORN) also announced a new three-year $500 million share buyback today representing around 5% of its market cap at announcement.
The stock that caught our attention this week was Owens Corning (OC). It also tops our list with a 10 million additional buyback representing around 11% of its market cap at announcement. OC is a global building and construction materials manufacturer. The company’s main business segments are insulation, roofing, composites, and other building products.