Safeco Repurchases 2.75 M Shares

Safeco announced Monday it has repurchased 2.75 million shares -- approximately 2.15 percent of its outstanding common stock -- through an Accelerated Share Repurchase (ASR) program. The shares were purchased from a dealer (JP Morgan) at $54.50 per share, for a total cost of approximately $150 million. Safeco also announced it executed a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan to purchase up to an additional $100 million of its outstanding common stock. A Rule 10b5-1 plan allows Safeco to repurchase its shares during periods when the company would normally not be active in the market because of its own...