Henry Schein (Nasdaq:HSIC) announced today that its board of directors authorized a repurchase plan worth up to $400 million.
Melville, New York–based Henry Schein’s authorization of the repurchase of up to $400 million in shares of the company’s common stock adds to a $400 million repurchase program announced in May 2021. That plan from more than a year ago was fully executed.
According to a news release, Henry Schein had approximately 136 million shares outstanding as of yesterday, Aug. 17, 2022.
The new share repurchase plan authorization represents approximately 3.9% of the shares outstanding at the current stock price. Purchases may be made from time to time in the open market, or through negotiated transactions, the company said.
“This new share repurchase authorization reflects our team’s commitment to delivering on our strategic priorities and creating sustainable value by investing in our business for growth,” said Ronald N. South, SVP and CFO of Henry Schein. “We are acutely focused on deploying capital to drive long-term value and executing on our balanced capital allocation strategy, which includes investments to support organic growth, strategic acquisitions, and share repurchases.”
The news comes more than two weeks after Henry Schain reported second-quarter sales that missed the Wall Street consensus forecast amid declining COVID-19 test demand and foreign exchange headwinds. The company also reduced its expected revenue growth for the year.
CEO Stanley M. Bergman said at the time: “While we are maintaining our full-year 2022 diluted EPS guidance range… we are adjusting our expectations for full-year sales growth to reflect changes, including a continued strengthening of the U.S. dollar and declining demand for COVID-19 test kits.”
