Ryder’s directors approve repurchase of 3.5 million company shares

RyderÆs directors approve repurchase of 3.5 million company shares    The board of directors of Ryder System Inc., a Miami-based provider of transportation and logistics services, has authorized a share repurchase program 'to mitigate the dilutive impact of shares issued under the company's various employee stock option and employee stock purchase plans,' Ryder said in a statement.
   Under the two-year program, Ryder's management may repurchase shares of common stock in an amount not to exceed the number of shares issued to employees since May 1, 2004. As of June 30, this amount was approximately 0.2 million shares.
   The program limits aggregate share repurchases to no more than 3.5 million shares of Ryder common stock. As of June 30, Ryder had 64.3 million shares of common stock outstanding.
   This announcement follows the completion, in the second quarter, of a $90 million share repurchase program announced in October 2003. In that program, a total of 2.48 million shares of Ryder's common stock were repurchased at an average price of $36.32 per share.