The Winchester, Va., maker of kitchen and bath cabinets said its board has authorized a new $100 million stock repurchase program. The previous $50 million program announced in November 2006 has nearly been completed. In addition, the company decided to increase its dividend by 50% to 9 cents a share from the previous 6 cents. The stock trades for 5x cash flow.

Tessera Technologies Inc., which makes technology used in electronics manufacturing, said Friday its board approved $100 million to buy back shares. "While we continue to see exciting long-term growth opportunities both through organic means as well as acquisitions, the management team and board of directors believe this stock buyback represents a good use of Tessera's funds," the company said in a statement. Tessera Tech was also upgraded by First Albany. The stock trades for 10x cash flow.

Gap announced a $1.5 billion dollar buyback which adds to its prior plan. Also, new CEO and Chairman, Glenn Murphy, recently bought 150,000 shares at $15.31-$15.82 or roughly $2.3 million worth of stock. The San Francisco-based international specialty retailer offers clothing and accessories for all ages under the brand names, Gap Banana Republic, Old Navy, and Piperlime. It operates over 3,100 stores worldwide and plans to expand into Saudi Arabia and Turkey by spring 2008. Mr. Murphy has an extensive and successful background in the retail industry. He was chairman and CEO of the largest drug store chain in Canada, Shoppers Drug Mart, where he increased the company's market cap to over CAD $10 billion from about CAD $3 billion. He is known for revitalizing major retail brands by creating new products and improving the store experience- which is just what the Gap needs. "I'm thrilled with this opportunity to lead Gap given the company's iconic stature and heritage of innovation and creativity," said Mr. Murphy. "Alongside some of the most talented people in the apparel industry, we'll work to reestablish each brand's leadership position and set the company along a path of sustained earnings performance." Mr. Murphy’s stock purchase says to shareholders that the leader of the company is focused and confident he will drive the share price higher. He’s not just saying it, he putting his money where his mouth is. Equity research firm CL King upgraded GPS to strong buy from neutral last week and awarded it with a $20 price target. CL King likes the company’s strong balance sheet, which is not priced into Gap shares yet. They really anticipate second quarter earnings (coming out today) to be a short-term catalyst, and a positive response from the conference call. Analysts still expects sales to be weak, but explain that alone shouldn’t hurt the stock. The Aug 9th monthly sales demonstrated the new managements focus on improving expense reductions and inventory controls. With all these factors in play, share could run to that $20 sooner rather than later.

Herbalife announced a $150 million dollar buyback which adds to its prior plan. A Goldman Sachs analyst was upbeat on Herbalife Ltd.'s decision to boost its buyback plan by $150 million, saying the move signals management's ongoing confidence in the business. Herbalife, which sells nutritional supplements, said Thursday the latest increase brings the total authorized amount of shares available for repurchase to $450 million. Since April, the company has repurchased 5.2 million shares for a total of $204 million. Goldman Sachs analyst Simeon Gutman said the latest increase shows Herbalife feels optimistic about its future prospects. Specifically, Gutman said the company's recent free cash flow generation has been excellent, with nearly $70 million raised in the second quarter. Meanwhile, Herbalife's stock price has been relatively flat year-to-date, Gutman said, and is trading somewhat low, despite its strong fundamentals. "We continue to view Herbalife shares as one of the most compelling ways to take advantage of the rapidly evolving global health and wellness market," Gutman wrote.

CenturyTel announced a $750 million dollar buyback. A Bear Stearns analyst also upgraded the stock on valuation and the buyback announcement. Bear Stearns analyst Michael McCormack upgraded the stock to "Outperform" from "Underperform" and set a $52 price target. The analyst said the company continues to engage in shareholder-friendly activities such as the most recent repurchase plan, and its shares are attractive in comparison to its peers.

OneBeacon Insurance Group announced a $200 million dollar buyback. OneBeacon Insurance Group, Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides property and casualty insurance services for businesses in the United States. The stock has a PE of 8.

Nordstrom announced a $1.5 billion dollar buyback. The Seattle based retail giant trades for 8x cash flows.

For instance, Illinois Tool Works is in this week’s portfolio. The Glenview, Illinois –based company recently said its board approved a $3 billion buyback plan representing about 55 million shares. In August of last year, the company put forward a 35 million share repurchase plan, of which 12 million shares remain. The company expects to spend $1.1 to $1.4 billion on buybacks for the full year 2007. The maker of fasteners, food service and welding equipment, and other products announced impressive second quarter earnings last Wednesday, highlighted by a 16.3% jump in operating revenue. Every aspect of the company outperformed. Operating revenue in the manufacturing segment increased 21.9% while the specialty systems division surged 21.8%. ITW still expects strong EPS going forward, with third quarter earnings between 85 and 89 cents a share and $3.31 to $3.41 for the full year. Chairman and CEO David B. Speer said, "As we continue to look for ways to optimize our balance sheet and make the best use of our strong free operating cash flow, share repurchases will play an important role in that process. We'll also continue to utilize free cash for future acquisitions as well as dividends." Equity research firm William Blair & Company reiterate an outperform rating on ITW and said they like the beefed up buyback plan, which brought the grand total to $3.7 billion or 12% of outstanding shares. William Blair also finds it attractive that ITW is trading at 14 times earnings, the very low end of the historical range of 14 to 21 times. Adding to ITW’s bullish case is they also increased their dividend yield to 2.1%, and they believe increasing leverage will drive ROE higher.