Pfizer Will Buy Back up to $5 Billion in Shares

Pfizer Inc., the maker of Viagra and the No. 4 U.S. drug maker, said it will buy back as much as $5 billion of its common shares for general corporate purposes. Pfizer, which has about 1.3 billion shares outstanding, said it expects to make purchases during the next two years in the open market or in private transactions. Based on Wednesday’s closing price of $106.50, Pfizer could repurchase about 4% of its shares outstanding. Since 1991, New York-based Pfizer has completed four buybacks, repurchasing about 186 million shares, adjusted for splits. It has spent $4.6 billion on the programs, spokesman Brian McGlynn said. Pfizer shares rose 94 cents to close at $107.44 on the NYSE. Buying back stock allows companies to boost earnings per share by reducing the number of shares outstanding.