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Market trends
Are increased Q3 buybacks a signal of executive confidence?
AlphaSense
|
November 18, 2020
15+ min read
The US GDP gained significant momentum in Q3, increasing by 7.4% over the previous quarter and recovering about two-thirds of the ground it lost amidst the coronavirus pandemic earlier this year. While we’re not out of the COVID hole quite yet, with the economy still 3.5% smaller than it was at the end of last year, increases in buyback volume could signal executive’s confidence in some sectors.
Against this backdrop of a growing, yet still the vulnerable economy, 120+ major corporations repurchased shares in Q3. Notably, Q3 purchase volume increased by 55% over Q2. Which companies are riding the wave and repurchasing their stock? Take a look at the list we’ve compiled of companies over a $5B market cap below.
Takeaways:
- In Q3, 120+ companies repurchased a collective $60.3B, representing a 55% increase from Q2. Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft accounted for 52.2% of total buybacks with a combined $31.53B in buybacks in Q3
- 25 companies repurchased >1% of their market capitalization within Q3 with Biogen continuing it’s program momentum, repurchasing 3.26% of market cap in Q3 after repurchasing over 6% in Q2
- Information technology companies overtook Financials firms’ dominance in Q2 in representing the highest percentage of buybacks by volume, accounting for 28.1% of total repurchases in Q3
- Repurchases from Apple and Microsoft once again led the Information Technology sector to dominate in terms of the total dollar value of buybacks in Q3, with the IT sector accounting for 48.4% of total buyback dollar value. Together, Apple and Microsoft’s buybacks account for 81% of repurchase dollar value within IT
- Communications Services firms represented only 3.3% total buyback volume, but 22.2% of buyback dollar value with $13.37B in repurchases. Facebook and Alphabet accounted for 72% of the total buyback volume within the sector with a combined $9.63B in repurchases
- Charter Communications was the 2nd largest buyer in Communications Services this quarter topping Facebook’s $1.73B, repurchasing $3.26B, representing 2.54% of their market capitalization
- Dominion Energy ranked in the top 5 repurchases in Q3, buying back $2.23B, accounting for 81% of all Utility buybacks
AlphaSense’s AI technology picks up on nuances in human language found in SEC filings, event transcripts, and thousands of premium business documents in real-time across the entire market, by industry, or watchlist. Start your free trial of AlphaSense now or log in to your account.
We looked at companies with >$5B market cap and tracked 10Q filings from Q3’20 to see which industries repurchased the most stock by total dollar value repurchased.
We looked at companies with >$5B market cap and tracked 10Q filings from Q3’20 to see which industries were repurchasing their stock.
| Company | July Volume |
Aug Volume |
Sept Volume | July Price | Aug Price | Sept Price | Amount Repurchased (in billions) | % Market Cap Repurchased |
| Apple Inc |
67,990,000 |
43,119,000 |
60,725,000 |
$94.68 |
$115.99 |
$114.00 |
$18.36 |
0.91% |
| Alphabet Inc |
1,454,000 |
1,592,000 |
2,114,000 |
$1,513.19 |
$1,561.67 |
$1,518.52 |
$7.90 |
0.67% |
| Microsoft Corp |
9,748,145 |
7,797,300 |
7,606,666 |
$206.48 |
$213.96 |
$208.88 |
$5.27 |
0.33% |
| Charter Communication Inc |
1,188,061 |
1,915,988 |
2,362,246 |
$537.54 |
$607.06 |
$615.83 |
$3.26 |
2.54% |
| Dominion Energy |
3,673,314 |
24,829,124 |
$78.46 |
$78.40 |
$2.23 |
3.37% |
||
| Mastercard Inc |
3,468,650 |
1,540,748 |
1,468,424 |
$302.71 |
$330.88 |
$340.07 |
$2.06 |
0.61% |
| Procter & Gamble |
7,384,222 |
7,257,329 |
$135.42 |
$137.79 |
$2.00 |
0.58% |
||
|
2,310,000 |
2,205,000 |
2,205,000 |
$239.04 |
$268.67 |
$267.27 |
$1.73 |
0.22% |
|
| Biogen Inc |
2,025,000 |
2,458,413 |
$283.69 |
$274.78 |
$1.25 |
3.37% |
||
| L3Harris Technologies Inc |
5,055,208 |
1,336,140 |
$179.73 |
$180.58 |
$1.15 |
2.79% |
||
| eBay Inc |
5,772,309 |
8,119,269 |
3,848,055 |
$54.68 |
$56.46 |
$51.97 |
$0.97 |
2.91% |
| Cigna Corp |
1,180,578 |
2,349,942 |
1,438,383 |
$179.88 |
$178.78 |
$169.35 |
$0.88 |
1.15% |
| Anthem Inc |
969,800 |
609,001 |
1,275,933 |
$264.56 |
$277.75 |
$260.93 |
$0.76 |
0.95% |
| Amgen Inc |
1,069,984 |
1,004,844 |
960,100 |
$252.92 |
$242.72 |
$246.50 |
$0.75 |
0.57% |
| Sempra Energy |
3,296,251 |
793,124 |
$122.27 |
$122.27 |
$0.50 |
1.30% |
||
| Sirius XM Holdings Inc |
15,046,929 |
30,750,000 |
40,000,000 |
$5.85 |
$5.93 |
$5.40 |
$0.49 |
1.81% |
| Lam Research Group |
483,000 |
861,000 |
$372.37 |
$327.63 |
$0.46 |
0.75% |
||
| Progressive Corp |
1,600,514 |
1,602,786 |
1,683,519 |
$87.87 |
$90.44 |
$93.99 |
$0.44 |
0.80% |
| O’Reilly Automotive Inc |
84,000 |
269,000 |
612,000 |
$423.09 |
$464.13 |
$461.24 |
$0.44 |
1.34% |
| Sherwin Williams Co |
50,000 |
275,000 |
275,000 |
$648.56 |
$657.39 |
$695.43 |
$0.40 |
0.62% |
| Aflac Inc |
2,045,100 |
3,913,300 |
4,957,427 |
$35.76 |
$36.98 |
$36.79 |
$0.40 |
1.33% |
| Union Pacific Corp |
4,045,575 |
$98.93 |
$0.40 |
0.29% |
||||
| Colgate-Palmolive |
|
1,795,000 |
2,888,380 |
$77.56 |
$76.78 |
$0.36 |
0.50% |
|
| Ameriprise Financial Inc |
433,550 |
621,055 |
1,013,362 |
$151.84 |
$157.76 |
$152.48 |
$0.32 |
1.47% |
| Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp |
4,100,000 |
$68.81 |
$0.28 |
0.71% |
||||
| Wayfair Inc |
843,941 |
$331.65 |
$0.28 |
1.20% |
||||
| McKesson Corp |
300,000 |
1,500,000 |
$152.66 |
$150.93 |
$0.27 |
0.96% |
||
| Gilead Sciences Inc |
790,000 |
1,333,000 |
1,389,000 |
$75.48 |
$68.04 |
$64.30 |
$0.24 |
0.31% |
| Fleetcor Technologies Inc |
412 |
999,503 |
$217.19 |
$238.43 |
$0.24 |
1.09% |
||
| Automatic Data Processing Inc |
90,684 |
683,298 |
878,407 |
$132.36 |
$138.39 |
$136.45 |
$0.23 |
0.30% |
| Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc |
558,400 |
9,640,400 |
|
$18.60 |
$22.10 |
$0.22 |
3.15% |
|
| MSCI Inc |
6,623 |
591,408 |
$348.20 |
$345.35 |
$0.21 |
0.62% |
||
| Amphenol Corporation |
47,400 |
860,372 |
961,676 |
$105.46 |
$108.11 |
$108.05 |
$0.20 |
0.54% |
| Mettler Toledo International Inc |
104,644 |
102,725 |
$955.37 |
$973.69 |
$0.20 |
0.73% |
||
| Loews Corp |
|
1,250,171 |
4,154,083 |
$36.56 |
$35.82 |
$0.19 |
1.64% |
|
| Kimberly Clark Corp |
162,100 |
541,200 |
570,700 |
$149.85 |
$156.80 |
$148.83 |
$0.19 |
0.40% |
| KLA Corporation |
|
290,245 |
737,436 |
$206.72 |
$181.57 |
$0.19 |
0.52% |
|
| SS&C Technologies Holdings Inc |
200,000 |
2,600,000 |
300,000 |
$57.05 |
$61.75 |
$61.64 |
$0.19 |
1.10% |
| Verisign Inc |
289,000 |
264,000 |
270,000 |
$207.00 |
$208.39 |
$204.45 |
$0.17 |
0.77% |
| Arista Networks Inc |
209,000 |
594,000 |
$219.86 |
$204.09 |
$0.17 |
0.81% |
||
| Honeywell International Inc |
|
400,000 |
611,000 |
$0.00 |
$154.77 |
$165.53 |
$0.16 |
0.12% |
| AGNC Investment Corp |
5,900,000 |
5,100,000 |
$13.92 |
$13.98 |
$0.15 |
1.85% |
||
| Arrow Electronics Inc |
734,394 |
1,209,454 |
$74.87 |
$78.55 |
$0.15 |
2.27% |
||
| Carlisle Cos Inc |
200,000 |
500,000 |
500,000 |
$119.07 |
$126.12 |
$123.35 |
$0.15 |
1.92% |
| T. Rowe Price Group Inc |
32,814 |
1,090,792 |
$128.93 |
$126.64 |
$0.14 |
0.45% |
||
| Avalonbay Communities Inc |
287,792 |
624,941 |
$152.90 |
$149.51 |
$0.14 |
0.58% |
||
| Globe Life Inc |
592 |
531,837 |
1,053,872 |
$72.53 |
$83.72 |
$80.99 |
$0.13 |
1.34% |
| Illumina Inc |
55,000 |
64,000 |
259,000 |
$369.87 |
$350.59 |
$316.65 |
$0.12 |
0.29% |
| Service Corporation International |
894,191 |
251,996 |
1,710,983 |
$38.52 |
$46.06 |
$42.37 |
$0.12 |
1.40% |
| Bank of America Corp |
5,000 |
3,891,000 |
104,000 |
$23.70 |
$27.90 |
$26.47 |
$0.11 |
0.05% |
| Celanese Corp |
481,961 |
578,929 |
$101.73 |
$107.78 |
$0.11 |
0.72% |
||
| Advance Auto Parts Inc |
191,730 |
524,278 |
$155.19 |
$152.31 |
$0.11 |
1.09% |
||
| SEI Investments Company |
250,000 |
775,000 |
1,085,000 |
$51.65 |
$52.89 |
$50.54 |
$0.11 |
1.37% |
| Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc |
|
310,562 |
92,157 |
$270.48 |
$260.42 |
$0.11 |
0.19% |
|
| The Blackstone Group Inc |
142,857 |
999,999 |
857,144 |
$54.28 |
$53.14 |
$52.21 |
$0.11 |
0.15% |
| Motorola Solutions Inc |
203,313 |
67,273 |
443,815 |
$131.52 |
$148.64 |
$154.41 |
$0.11 |
0.37% |
| Qorvo Inc |
175,000 |
397,000 |
265,000 |
$110.64 |
$131.59 |
$126.06 |
$0.11 |
0.64% |
| Juniper Networks Inc |
2,600,000 |
1,600,000 |
$24.50 |
$23.03 |
$0.10 |
1.40% |
||
| Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc |
179,824 |
$558.55 |
$0.10 |
0.18% |
||||
| Equitable Holdings Inc |
3,259,806 |
1,473,143 |
$21.28 |
$20.80 |
$0.10 |
0.91% |
||
| Clorox Co |
443,848 |
$225.30 |
$0.10 |
0.39% |
||||
| PNC |
919,000 |
$107.50 |
$0.10 |
0.18% |
||||
| Ubiquiti Inc |
55,333 |
546,670 |
$182.97 |
$159.99 |
$0.10 |
0.64% |
||
| American Financials Group |
130,900 |
516,500 |
800,188 |
$59.71 |
$66.80 |
$66.53 |
$0.10 |
1.24% |
| Cadence Design Systems Inc |
269,493 |
225,108 |
221,970 |
$100.33 |
$109.80 |
$105.16 |
$0.08 |
0.24% |
| Assurant Inc |
242,000 |
335,476 |
$123.28 |
$120.03 |
$0.07 |
0.88% |
||
| Alleghany Corp |
51,171 |
80,243 |
$547.08 |
$523.34 |
$0.07 |
0.80% |
||
| Jack Henry & Associates |
300,000 |
100,000 |
$166.39 |
$159.57 |
$0.07 |
0.54% |
||
| Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc |
|
200,000 |
400,000 |
$102.63 |
$111.59 |
$0.07 |
0.24% |
|
| Lockheed Martin Corp |
163,220 |
$363.74 |
$0.06 |
0.06% |
||||
| Howmet Aerospace Inc |
31,755 |
2,875,339 |
$18.59 |
$17.34 |
$0.05 |
0.50% |
||
| CSX Corp |
557,454 |
147,611 |
$68.10 |
$68.99 |
$0.05 |
0.07% |
||
| Brunswick Corp |
738,926 |
$60.90 |
$0.05 |
0.81% |
||||
| Dolby Laboratories Inc |
491,333 |
151,363 |
$69.92 |
$70.27 |
$0.04 |
0.50% |
||
| CBOE Global Markets Inc |
|
170,141 |
295,225 |
$90.46 |
$89.60 |
$0.04 |
0.44% |
|
| Dropbox Inc |
590,000 |
590,000 |
620,000 |
$21.82 |
$20.70 |
$19.84 |
$0.04 |
0.49% |
| Nasdaq Inc |
149,897 |
109,756 |
$130.83 |
$130.67 |
$0.03 |
0.17% |
||
| Corteva Inc |
1,159,748 |
$28.28 |
$0.03 |
0.12% |
||||
| Gentex Corp |
125,110 |
525,295 |
525,351 |
$27.07 |
$27.38 |
$26.44 |
$0.03 |
0.40% |
| Syneos Health Inc |
506,244 |
$59.26 |
$0.03 |
0.46% |
||||
| Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Group |
394,262 |
|
|
$76.09 |
$0.03 |
0.25% |
||
| Factset Research Systems Inc |
47,428 |
37,295 |
$344.03 |
$355.76 |
$0.03 |
0.25% |
||
| Trimble Inc |
574,973 |
$48.70 |
$0.03 |
0.20% |
||||
| Essex Portfolio LP |
121,260 |
|
$219.24 |
$0.00 |
$0.00 |
$0.03 |
0.16% |
|
| Fair Isaac Corp |
24,000 |
35,600 |
$426.55 |
$421.32 |
$0.03 |
0.18% |
||
| Estee Lauder Companies Inc |
369 |
|
114,053 |
$190.81 |
$219.79 |
$0.03 |
0.03% |
|
| Jones Lang Lasalle Inc |
|
258,131 |
$96.82 |
$0.02 |
0.35% |
|||
| Jabil Inc |
80,750 |
455,893 |
223,628 |
$31.52 |
$32.23 |
$34.67 |
$0.02 |
0.44% |
| Robert Half International Inc |
448,873 |
$52.37 |
$0.02 |
0.32% |
||||
| Sealed Air Corp |
521,498 |
$38.37 |
$0.02 |
0.29% |
||||
| Morningstar Inc |
|
41,957 |
80,063 |
$158.90 |
$158.04 |
$0.02 |
0.23% |
|
| Texas Instruments Inc |
68,088 |
40,951 |
877 |
$129.15 |
$131.33 |
$134.78 |
$0.01 |
0.01% |
| Akamai Technologies Inc |
50,566 |
69,431 |
$109.52 |
$110.33 |
$0.01 |
0.08% |
||
| Proofpoint Inc |
|
|
112,000 |
$104.82 |
$0.01 |
0.21% |
||
| Pegasystems Inc |
42,000 |
26,000 |
26,000 |
$109.36 |
$120.08 |
$124.88 |
$0.01 |
0.11% |
| TopBuild Corp |
24,524 |
33,286 |
$152.87 |
$157.67 |
$0.01 |
0.15% |
||
| Brown & Brown Inc |
132,851 |
$44.29 |
$0.01 |
0.04% |
||||
| Pool Corp |
|
|
19,613 |
$299.17 |
$0.01 |
0.05% |
||
| Bruker Corp |
127,278 |
$39.28 |
$0.00 |
0.07% |
||||
| OGE Energy Corp |
150,000 |
$33.14 |
$0.00 |
0.07% |
||||
| Prosperity Bancshares Inc |
98,028 |
$49.99 |
$0.00 |
0.09% |
||||
| Archer Daniels Midland |
102 |
106,337 |
172 |
$41.77 |
$43.53 |
$47.61 |
$0.00 |
0.02% |
| Marketaxess Holding Inc |
600 |
3,000 |
5,148 |
$520.18 |
$493.15 |
$463.40 |
$0.00 |
0.02% |
| Paycom Software Inc |
8,894 |
$318.28 |
$0.00 |
0.01% |
||||
| Arthur J Gallagher & Co |
2,124 |
688 |
17,465 |
$102.73 |
$105.39 |
$105.08 |
$0.00 |
0.01% |
| CACI International Inc |
10,455 |
$198.42 |
$0.00 |
0.03% |
||||
| The Wendy’s Co |
21,202 |
59,900 |
$21.82 |
$21.00 |
$0.00 |
0.03% |
||
| Quidel Corp |
|
|
10,157 |
$156.99 |
$0.00 |
0.02% |
||
| Royal Gold Inc |
6,527 |
$136.59 |
$0.00 |
0.01% |
||||
| McDonald’s Corp |
1,896 |
1,802 |
261 |
$192.40 |
$207.27 |
$205.33 |
$0.00 |
0.00% |
| Harley-Davidson Inc |
7,541 |
20,069 |
$28.00 |
$26.00 |
$0.00 |
0.01% |
||
| ON Semiconductor Corp |
|
13,519 |
10,916 |
$21.09 |
$22.27 |
$0.00 |
0.00% |
|
| Leidos Holdings Inc |
|
|
4,177 |
$0.00 |
$0.00 |
$88.43 |
$0.00 |
0.00% |
| Polaris Inc |
1,000 |
2,000 |
$91.71 |
$96.50 |
$0.00 |
0.01% |
||
| Reliance Steel and Aluminum Co |
2,466 |
$100.00 |
$0.00 |
0.00% |
||||
| BWX Technologies Inc |
3,887 |
405 |
500 |
$46.58 |
$57.75 |
$54.99 |
$0.00 |
0.00% |
| Commerce Bancshares Inc |
609 |
1,757 |
496 |
$57.29 |
$60.02 |
$55.83 |
$0.00 |
0.00% |
| Intercontinental Exchange Inc |
1,503 |
73 |
$93.75 |
$96.66 |
$0.00 |
0.00% |
||
| Ball Corp |
1,618 |
$69.49 |
$0.00 |
0.00% |
||||
| Ametek Inc |
|
764 |
|
$94.95 |
$0.00 |
0.00% |
||
| Extra Space Storage |
600 |
$90.81 |
$0.00 |
0.00% |
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