© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The Comcast NBC logo is shown on a building in Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 13, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Blake
(Reuters) -Comcast Corp and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:) became the latest U.S. companies to unveil share buybacks worth billions of dollars on Wednesday, ahead of a new tax on stock repurchases next year.
Comcast (NASDAQ:) doubled its share buyback authorization to $20 billion, after increasing it to $10 billion in January, while Johnson and Johnson announced a stock repurchase of up to $5 billion.
Comcast, whose shares were up 1% before the bell, said it had bought back about $9 billion worth of stock so far this year.
The climate, healthcare and tax bill passed by the U.S. has likely made companies hasten share repurchases, as it imposes a new excise tax on stock buybacks and a minimum 15% tax on corporations, effective next year.
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