Cerner's board of directors approved an amendment to its stock repurchase program on Dec. 13 that authorized the repurchase of up to $1.7 billion of the Kansas City, Mo.-based EHR vendor's common stock.
The board authorized the repurchase of an additional $1.5 billion of its common stock. In 2019, Cerner repurchased $1.3 billion of its shares and had $200 million of available authorization remaining prior to the increase announced on Dec. 13. The total authorized amount available for repurchase is now $1.7 billion.
No time limit was set for completion of the program, and Cerner plans to fund its capital allocation program with cash from operations and debt.
Cerner also announced it will pay stockholders a cash dividend of $0.18 per share, which will be payable on Jan. 9, 2020. Cerner plans to continue paying dividends each quarter based on the company's financial and operational standing as well as cash flows and capital requirements.