Stockholders' Equity

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2016

Equity [Abstract]

Stockholders' Equity

Note 7 — Stockholders’ Equity

Equity Plans

In May 2016, the stockholders of the Company approved an amendment and restatement of the Company’s 2006 Equity Incentive Plan.  The amendment and restatement resulted in (1) extending the term of the plan for 10 years until May 2026, (2) increasing the number of shares issuable under the plan by 2,000,000 shares, (3) establishing a maximum amount of awards issuable under the plan to the Company’s non-employee directors, and (4) changing the name of the plan to the Forrester Research, Inc. Amended and Restated Equity Incentive Plan.

Stock option activity for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 is presented below (in thousands, except per share data and contractual term):

				Weighted -		Weighted -
				Average		Average
				Exercise		Remaining		Aggregate
	Number			Price Per		Contractual		Intrinsic
	of Shares			Share		Term (in years)		Value
Outstanding at December 31, 2015		2,171		$	33.84
Granted		83			35.61
Exercised		(294	)		32.52
Forfeited		(198	)		35.76
Outstanding at September 30, 2016		1,762		$	33.93		6.30	$	8,811
Exercisable at September 30, 2016		1,073		$	33.00		5.03	$	6,331
Vested and expected to vest at September 30, 2016		1,683		$	33.87		6.20	$	8,514

Restricted stock unit activity for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 is presented below (in thousands, except per share data):

				Weighted-
				Average
	Number of			Grant Date
	Shares			Fair Value
Unvested at December 31, 2015		504		$	33.67
Granted		256			37.88
Vested		(171	)		34.05
Forfeited		(45	)		34.33
Unvested at September 30, 2016		544		$	35.48

Stock-Based Compensation

Forrester recognizes the fair value of stock-based compensation in net income over the requisite service period of the individual grantee, which generally equals the vesting period. Stock-based compensation was recorded in the following expense categories (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended				Nine Months Ended
	September 30,				September 30,
	2016		2015		2016		2015
Cost of services and fulfillment	$	1,077	$	1,183	$	3,141	$	3,218
Selling and marketing		272		331		695		754
General and administrative		622		710		1,895		1,913
Total	$	1,971	$	2,224	$	5,731	$	5,885

Forrester utilizes the Black-Scholes valuation model for estimating the fair value of stock options. Options granted under the equity incentive plans and shares subject to purchase under the employee stock purchase plan were valued using the following assumptions:

	Three Months Ended						Three Months Ended
	September 30, 2016						September 30, 2015
	Equity Incentive			Employee Stock			Equity Incentive			Employee Stock
	Plans			Purchase Plan			Plans			Purchase Plan
Average risk-free interest rate		1.07	%		0.47	%		1.63	%		0.14	%
Expected dividend yield		1.8	%		2.0	%		2.1	%		2.1	%
Expected life	4.8 Years			0.5 Years			5.0 Years			0.5 Years
Expected volatility		24	%		26	%		24	%		21	%
Weighted average fair value	$	7.04		$	7.52		$	6.00		$	6.43

	Nine Months Ended						Nine Months Ended
	September 30, 2016						September 30, 2015
	Equity Incentive			Employee Stock			Equity Incentive			Employee Stock
	Plans			Purchase Plan			Plans			Purchase Plan
Average risk-free interest rate		1.30	%		0.47	%		1.60	%		0.14	%
Expected dividend yield		2.2	%		2.0	%		2.1	%		2.1	%
Expected life	5.0 Years			0.5 Years			5.0 Years			0.5 Years
Expected volatility		24	%		25	%		24	%		21	%
Weighted average fair value	$	6.16		$	7.75		$	6.16		$	6.43

Dividends

In the nine months ended September 30, 2016, the Company declared and paid dividends of $9.7 million consisting of a $0.18 per share dividend in each of the first three quarters of 2016. In the nine months ended September 30, 2015, the Company declared and paid dividends of $9.2 million consisting of a $0.17 per share dividend in each of the first three quarters of 2015. In October 2016, the Company declared a dividend of $0.18 per share payable on December 21, 2016 to shareholders of record as of December 7, 2016.

Treasury Stock

As of September 30, 2016, Forrester’s Board of Directors had authorized an aggregate $460.0 million to purchase common stock under its stock repurchase program. In October 2016, the Board of Directors authorized an additional $25.0 million to be repurchased under the Company’s stock repurchase program. The shares repurchased may be used, among other things, in connection with Forrester’s employee and director equity incentive and purchase plans. The Company did not repurchase shares of common stock in the nine months ended September 30, 2016. In the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015, the Company repurchased approximately 0.2 million and 0.5 million shares, respectively, of common stock at an aggregate cost of approximately $6.9 million and $18.6 million, respectively. From the inception of the program through September 30, 2016, Forrester repurchased 15.0 million shares of common stock at an aggregate cost of $423.1 million.