JPMorgan (JPM) Buying Back $15 Billion in Shares

After being cleared in a stress test conducted by the Federal Reserve, JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) announced it has boosted its dividend and will buy back $15 billion in shares.

The share repurchase will be over a period of years, with $8 billion being acquired in 2011. This program will replace the prior $10 billion stock repurchase which had $3.2 billion remaining on it.

JPMorgan also said its boosting its quarterly dividend to 25 cents. It had cut the dividend in early 2009 during the financial meltdown to 5 cents from 38 cents. The dividend is payable on April 30 to stockholders of record April 6.

The bank was trading at $45.94, up $1.38, or 3.11 percent, as of 1:39 PM EDT.

Sirius XM (NASDAQ:SIRI) May Buy Back Shares in 2012

While Sirius XM (NASDAQ:SIRI) will have to do much better if they are going to buy back shares in 2012, hints from Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin are that he's considering doing that with the free cash flow of the company. He sees it as a better alternative than paying out dividends.

That especially true of Sirius, which is so heavily dependent on the health of the fickle car industry for its success.

They could offer a dividend and have to retract it in the near future on declining auto sales, being such a cyclical industry.

So a share repurchase would make more sense and be better for shareholders, as Karmazin suggests.

Karmazin didn't say he would repurchase shares next year, but Barrington Research analyst James Goss, who maintains an "Outperform" rating on Sirius, believes Karmazin may be ready for such a move next year some time.

Goss noted, "Two year years ago, almost to the day, they were on the brink of bankruptcy. Here we are two years later, and they’ve been able to increase the size of multiple bond offerings based on stronger demand. I can’t recall too many companies going from one extreme to the other this quickly."

Sirius XM closed Tuesday at $1.68, plunging $0.15, or 7.92 percent.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Jumps on Dividend Boost, Share Buyback

Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) are moving up Friday on news they increased their quarterly dividend by 20 percent authorized a share buyback of $10 billion, according to a company release.

The $10 billion share buyback is above and beyond the $5 billion buyback announced by ConocoPhillips in March.

At this time approximately $1 billion remains under the announced March buyback program.

ConocoPhillip's dividend was raised from $0.55 to $0.66, a 20 percent boost. On an annualized basis that's $2.64. The dividend yield is 3.1 percent.

The oil giant also announced capital expenditures for 2011 will be $13.5 billion. About 90 percent of capex will go toward Exploration and Production.

ConocoPhillips was trading at $71.43, up $1.35, or 1.93 percent, as of 1:46 PM EST.

3M (NYSE:MMM) Boosts Dividend, Announces $7 Billion Stock Buyback

The board of directors of 3M Co. (NYSE:MMM) announced the authorization for the company to repurchase $7 billion in a share buyback, and also a 5 percent increase in the dividend.

George W. Buckley, 3M chairman, president and CEO said, "Today's announcement reflects the strength of our business model and our confidence in the future. Our strong balance sheet and outstanding free cash flow allow us to fund growth investments and continue our legacy of returning significant cash to shareholders."

The repurchase program will replace the existing buyback program, according to 3M, which gave no specific dates for when it would be launched.

A dividend of 55 cents a share was declared by the board of directors, 5 percent over the prior quarterly dividend. The dividend is payable March 12 to shareholders of record at the close of business on February 18.

According to 3M, this is the 53rd year in a row they've boosted the dividend, and at least the 94th year in a row they've paid a dividend.

BHP (NYSE:BHP), Potash (NYSE:POT) Both Buying Back Shares after Failed Bid

Not long after BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP) announced they were going to initiate a buyback of shares in the company, Potash Corp. (NYSE:POT) said they're going to do the same.

BHP announced they are going to buy back $4.2 billion in shares, while Potash said they' going to buy $2 billion in company shares.

Depending on the share price, the number of shares Potash could by back up as high as 14.57 million, equal to about 4.9 percent of outstanding shares.

Although Potash could take as long as a year to buy the hares, they're hoping to complete the buyback by December 31, 2010, assuming favorable market conditions.

Potash Corp. closed Tuesday at $134.63, down by $2.64, or 1.92 percent. BHP ended the session at $85.04, falling $2.65, or 3.02 percent.