Coca-Cola announced Thursday it plans to repurchase 500 million shares in a buy back program authorized by the company’s board of directors.

The new plan will begin when the current purchase program, which began in 2006, ends. The company said it will not effect its target of $2.5 billion to $3 billion in net share purchases this year.

“Our new share repurchase program reflects the board’s continued confidence in the company’s future performance and our long-term cash flow generation,” said Muhtar Kent, Coca-Cola’s chairman and chief executive officer said in a release. “This new plan, combined with 50 years of consecutive annual dividend increases, underscores our continued commitment to delivering increased value to shareowners.”

The board also declared a quarterly dividend of 25.5 cents per common share, the company said. That dividend is payable Dec. 17 to shareowners of record as of Nov. 30, 2012.