Buyback announcements have slowed significantly since the start of the year with only 8 companies announcing share repurchases last week. As we get into earnings season in the next few weeks, buyback announcements will start to pick back up again.
The most significant buyback of the week in dollars terms was by a healthcare technology and devices company, Agilent Technologies, Inc. (A). The company provides application-focused solutions to the life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemical markets worldwide. Agilent announced a $2 billion share buyback representing around 5% of its market cap at announcement. The market has already started responding to the announcement and shares are up 5.3% since the announcement yesterday.