Burger King Holdings recently announced a $100 million dollar buyback through 2008. "Our share repurchase plan provides us with the flexibility to be opportunistic, depending on market conditions, to enhance shareholder value over the long term," said CEO John Chidsey. A. G. Edwards analyst Steven West says the move is positive and expects the buybacks to increase Burger King’s standing among its competitors. Since it only recently went public a year ago the move could give the firm more credibility among investors as the buyback should boost its earnings-per-share going forward. The stock trades for 13x cash flow.

Brinker Internatinal recently announced a $300 million dollar buyback which adds to its prior plan. The company also said it would sell 76 Chili's Grill & Bar restaurants to ERJ Dining. Analysts said Brinker International Inc.'s increased share buybacks and franchise sales are good for investors, and said the moves will likely push shares up. The stock trades for 7x cash flow.

Viacom recently announced a $4 billion dollar buyback upon completion of its prior $3 billion dollar plan. Viacom, whose properties include MTV, Comedy Central and the Paramount movie studio, has repurchased $2.7 billion in stock under the previous program. The stock trades for 11x cash flow.

The Chairman of the Board bought 100,000 shares or $3,456,500 worth of stock. Leucadia National Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacturing, real estate, medical product development, and winery operations in the United States. Is often referred to as a “mini-Berkshire Hathaway”.

Deere also recently announced a stock buyback in which the company said it will buy back 20 million shares. The Moline, Ill.-based company, which manufactures and distributes agricultural and commercial equipment worldwide, recently announced a solid Q1 with improved earnings. The company cited strong international demand for farm machinery which they said offset weaker results in North America. Deere also increased it’s guidance for the full year, predicting a spike in farm equipment sales as a result of the growth of biofuels. Robert Baird's Robert F. McCarthy maintained his "Neutral" rating for the company but he did raise his price target by $19 to $127. He pointed out that “improving agricultural sector fundamentals are translating into a more rapid than expected acceleration in demand for Deere equipment…” Our own Jim Cramer has been a fan of Deere lately as well. He recently featured it as part of his Wild Bull Ag Plays. Cramer said “this stock is money in the bank.” He considers it the best of breed in the farm machinery business and said it is "quite well-priced."

Biogen Idec recently announced a $3 billion dollar buyback. Biogen Idec Inc. said this past Sunday (6-3-07) a trial showed the drug maker's Zevalin treatment helped more patients with lymphoma improve their condition than standard treatments. Biogen Idec, Inc. engages in the development, manufacture, and commercialization of novel therapies primarily in the areas of oncology, neurology, and immunology in the United States and internationally. The stock trades for 13x cash flow.

Genzyme recently announced a $1.5 billion dollar buyback over 3 years. Genzyme Corp. was recently upgraded by a Goldman Sachs analyst who praised the biotechnology’s drug pipeline and said the stock is underpriced. He gave a price target of $81 per share. The stock trades for 14x cash flow.

The Bentonville, AR based retail giant recently announced a $15 billion dollar stock buyback program. The behemoth also announced late last week that it will cut capital spending and pare back its store growth. "We are committed to improving return on investment, while continuing to grow in the United States," CEO Lee Scott, who has been under fire for the stock's poor performance in recent years, said in statement. "Today's announcement of this strategy and the share repurchase program underscores Wal-Mart's commitment to returning value to our shareholders." The company said it expects to add 190 to 200 new U.S. supercenters during this fiscal year and about 170 supercenters each year for the next three fiscal years. Wal-Mart had earlier targeted the opening of between 265 and 270 U.S. supercenters this year. The stock was subsequently upgraded by several institutions include by JP Morgans’ Charles Grom who noted “while some of our concerns still exist and same-store sales could stay depressed near-term, we think investors will now approach these factors with a 'glass half full' mentality -- in essence giving Wal-Mart a free pass for much of 2007.” Grom also added that he expects the buyback to support earnings per share significantly through 2008. Another analyst, HSBC’s Mark Husson, upped his price target from $53 to $61 per share. On top of the buyback program and cut in capital spending, you also have to think a lot of the “gloom and doom” surrounding Wal-Mart has to be fairly priced into the stock.