PepsiAmericas Inc. announced Thursday that its Board of Directors approved the repurchase of an additional 10 million shares of common stock. The authorization is effective immediately and does not have a deadline for execution of repurchases. The Pepsi-Cola bottler has approximately 127 million shares of common stock outstanding. The stock trades for 7x cash flow.

Ametek Inc. recently announced that its board of directors increased the amount of stock the company is authorized to repurchase by $50 million. There was $18 million left from an earlier authorization so the company is authorized to buy up to $68 million worth of stock, the Paoli, Pa.-based maker of electronic instruments (NYSE:AME) said. The company also said Monday it is buying Xantrex Technology Inc.'s programmable power business for $120 million in cash. Ametek Chairman and Chief Executive Frank S. Hermance said the acquisition of Xantrex, a power supply manufacturer, boosts its presence in the niche market for programmable power sources. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the third quarter. Xantrex's programmable power unit tests electronic products and has annual revenue of about $80 million, Ametek said. The stock trades for 12x cash flow.

Funeral services products provider Hillenbrand Inc. said Thursday its board authorized the repurchase of up to $100 million of the company's outstanding common shares. Purchases will be made from time to time in the open market or in private transactions, and will be funded from the company's available cash and cash flow. Hillenbrand is the holding company for Batesville Casket Co. The company currently has about 62.4 million shares outstanding. The stock trades for 7.5x cash flow.

Platinum Underwriters Holdings, Ltd. recently announced that it has increased the authorized amount under its existing share repurchase program to a total of up to $250 million of its common shares. This represents an increase of approximately $46 million from the approximately $204 million remaining in the program. Repurchases under the program may be made in open market or privately negotiated transactions or otherwise, from time to time, depending on market conditions. The company also announced that the Board of Directors has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per common share. The dividend is payable on September 30, 2008 to shareholders of record on September 2, 2008. The stock trades for 2x cash flow.

The global leader in soft-drink sales said they repurchased $1 billion in common stock through the first half of the year and they plan to repurchase a total of $1.75 to $2 billion for the full year. The Atlanta-based soda giant announced this in their second-quarter earnings report, which also revealed a 23% drop in profit. This sent KO share plunging, landing 18 cents shy of the 52-week low. During the quarter, worldwide unit case volume increased 3%, not as impressive as the 9% growth achieved last year. However, net revenue jumped 17% to $9.05 billion from $7.73 billion in the same period last year. Coca-Cola also sells Vitamin Water, Dasani, and Powerade, which have been growing faster than the traditional carbonated beverages. The numbers show that carbonated drinks rose 1% this quarter, while still beverages (like the ones mentioned above) increased 13%. President and CEO Muhtar Kent said, "Our results were once again led by our international operations, which delivered 5% unit case volume growth, and we maintained volume in North America despite significant challenges. Analyst Ann H. Gurkin from Davenport & Company commented, "We believe KO will navigate successfully despite short-term challenges. The company’s balanced model, both in terms of geography and brands, is driving consistent strong growth." She has a buy rating on the stock and a price target set at $65.

The Los Angeles-based maker of oil and chemical products announced that its board added $20 million shares to the company's buyback plan. This addition brings the total amount of shares authorized for repurchase up to 95 million, dating back to when the buyback program began in 2005. From 2005 through the second quarter of 2008, Oxy has bought back about 59.5 million shares, leaving 35.5 million shares available for repurchase. The buybacks will be made from time to time pending on market conditions. In addition, Oxy will not use any credit to fund to buybacks. Dr. Ray R. Irani, Occidental’s Chairman and CEO said, "Market conditions have given us the opportunity to purchase additional Oxy shares which we believe are currently trading at a significant discount to intrinsic share value." In late April, the fourth-largest U.S. oil company reported record first-quarter earnings with profit surging 52% to $1.85 billion or $2.23 cents a share, from $1.21 billion, or $1.43 a share in the same period last year. Revenue for the quarter increased 50% to $6.02 billion. The huge surge in profit can be attributed to the skyrocketing crude prices. Oxy paid 68% more for its oil this year, than the year earlier period. Credit Suisse has an outperform rating on the stock and issued a bullish note after Occidental and SandRidge Energy teamed up to develop a new Co2 extraction plant in West Texas. The CS analysts increased their price target from $103 to $109 to reflect the optimistic news.

The maker of tractors, cranes and other construction equipment announced that its board increased their buyback plan by $500 million. With this additional buyback, the company is now authorized to repurchase as much as $1.2 billion in common stock. TEX still maintained their expiration date of June 30, 2009. The Westport, Conn. based company has repurchased $362 million in stock as of June 30, 2008. "This action represents the second step-up in our share repurchase program since the program began. We continue to believe that investing in our shares provides an attractive return," said Ronald M. DeFeo, Chairman and CEO of Terex. On April 24, 2008 Terex issued first-period results with profit soaring 43%. Net income came in at $163.3 million or $1.59 a share, up from $113.8 million or $1.09 a share in the year earlier period. The results, which shattered analysts’ expectation, were attributed to overseas strength in demand for aerial platforms and cranes. Wachovia, who has an outperform rating on the stock, issued a positive note saying the buyback acts "as a potential defense against the significant selling pressure the stock has experienced." They feel Terex should be trading between $56 and $59, representing approximately 15% upside from current prices.

The European telecom giant said its board approved the repurchase of up too $2 billion in common stock. The move comes a day after the company's stock sunk 14% on lower expectations for full-year sales. Vodafone said this sharp decline was unwarranted and made VOD shares significantly undervalued. Vodafone added that the maximum share price it will repurchase the shares will be no more than 105% of the average closing price in the five business days before the buyback. On Tuesday, July 22nd, the world's largest mobile operator by sales, reported first-quarter earnings with sales increasing 19% to $19.6 billion. However, most of this growth came from favorable exchange rates and acquisitions. Organic revenue increased just 1.7%. In its strongest markets, revenue dripped 0.2%, mostly due to soft sales in Spain, which has experience a huge drop in consumer spending. Sales in the U.K. were also weak for Vodafone as competition remains tough. Arun Sarin, Vodafonoe’s CEO commented, “Whilst we expect revenue around the bottom of the outlook range, our continued focus on cost reduction enables us to reiterate our operating profit and cash flow guidance for the year.” Shares of Vodafone sunk 14% when the company warned about full year results, hinting at a slowdown in the telecom sector. They expect revenue to be at the bottom end of its range between $79.8 billion to $81.6 billion. Standard & Poor's analyst Cristina Perea said, “Vodafone's comments today highlight the fact that mobile and telecommunications services are not immune to the overall consumption patterns." Deutsche Bank has a buy rating on the stock and a $200 price target. They just issued a report saying that VOD's peers saw much lower gains in Spain. This is good news for VOD because that means the Spanish market isn't as weak as they previously thought.