A CEO that is willing to
push for share repurchases when a company's stock has fallen rather than acquire another business is much more likely to create wealth than one who is bent on expanding the empire.
The $ 1.5 million used for cash dividends and the $ 1.5 million
used for share repurchases wouldn't have bought as much stock, so the investor is going to actually end up with less ownership because their shares are trading at a richer valuation.
Fields, who earned $ 22.1 million in 2016, also faced a
clamor for share repurchases, which boost the value of stock, at Ford's annual meeting earlier this month.
He suggested that it could, instead, dedicate roughly $ 25 billion for dividends over the next five years, leaving an additional $ 135 billion
left for share repurchases.
And as an aside, a company that sells at half of book, earns 8 - 10 % on equity, doesn't grow and uses all its
earnings for share repurchase can reduce its share base by 15 to 20 % annually.
Activist investors, who now manage some $ 174 billion in assets, have exploded onto the scene, shaking up boards and
pushing for share repurchases, company breakups, or outright sales in order to get stock prices higher.
DaVita says it plans to focus on its kidney - dialysis business, and use the
money for share repurchases, debt payment and general corporate purposes.
As a dividend investor, I'm also pleased to see that management used $ 25B
for its shares repurchase program (GM bought back 25 % of outstanding shares) along with its dividend payments.
Given the low capital intensity of the aftermarket business and its relative stability, at least $ 50 million of this cash could be
used for share repurchases.
Both Elliott and Jana are pushing
for share repurchases and cost - cutting at the networking hardware manufacturer.
In January 2014, the company authorized $ 1.5 billion
for share repurchases.