In a previous article I outlined the reasons why I consider stock buybacks to be inferior to dividends. Nevertheless it pays to know which the largest repurchasers of their common stocks are. I am also a supporter of companies doing both stock buybacks while regularly raising dividends.

The 20 largest stock buybacks from the 1Q 2009 are listed below: (source S&P)

The decrease in buybacks was about 73% in comparison to the first quarter of 2008. S&P 500 companies spent $30.8 billion buying back their own stock in 1Q 2009 versus $113.9 billion in 1Q 2008.

It’s interesting to note that several prominent dividend stocks appear on the list.

Exxon Mobil (XOM) accounted for the majority of buybacks in the first quarter, after purchasing $7.85 billion worth of its own stock. This was slightly down from the $8.845 billion spent on buybacks in 4Q 2008. In comparison the largest oil and gas company in the US paid only $1.98 billion in dividend payments for the quarter. Exxon Mobil has been consistently increasing its dividends for 27 consecutive years, with its most recent dividend payment being 42 cents/share. Check my analysis of Exxon Mobil (XOM).

International Business Machines (IBM) was the third largest company repurchasing its shares, after spending $1.765 billion in the first quarter 2009 and $47.945 billion since 2004. This was higher from the $0.74 billion spent on buybacks in 4Q 2008.In comparison “Big Blue”, as traders on the NYSE call this global tech behemoth, spent only $675 million on dividends in the same quarter.