Ebix to ask board to boost buyback plan to $75M

Insurance software provider Ebix Inc. on Wednesday said that it will ask its board to increase its buyback authorization for the second time this quarter, to $75 million.

The company's shares rose $1.02, or 5.6 percent, to close heavy Wednesday trading at $19.41, after it revealed its latest round of repurchase activity.

Ebix said it bought back more than 1 million shares since March 29, for a total of $20.4 million.

On April 1, the company's board increased its repurchase plan to $45 million from $15 million.

That followed the repurchase of nearly 106,500 shares for $2.4 million during the first quarter.

The company said it will seek the increase once it has used the $45 million authorization.

Ebix has about 39.5 million shares outstanding, according to data provided by FactSet.