Why Legg Mason's Shares Jumped

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of asset manager Legg Mason (NYS: LM) jumped 11% in intraday trading after announcing financial news.

So what: The company said today it would repurchase $1.25 billion in convertible senior notes from KKR (NYS: KKR) . The board of directors has also authorized an additional $1 billion in share repurchases, continuing a repurchase program at the company.

Now what: The company will be selling new senior notes to pay for the debt repurchase so it doesn't change the company's debt level dramatically. As of March 31, 2012, the company had $1.4 billion of cash on hand as well, so there's plenty to fund the stock repurchase. I see this as a positive for shareholders but would like to see the stock come down from its high today before buying in at a premium.

Interested in more info on Legg Mason? Add it to your watchlist byclicking here.

At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributor Travis Hoium does not have a position in any company mentioned. You can follow Travis on Twitter at @FlushDrawFool, check out his personal stock holdings or follow his CAPS picks at TMFFlushDraw.Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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