Share Repurchases and Dividends

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2021

Stockholders' Equity Note [Abstract]

Share Repurchases and Dividends

SHARE REPURCHASES AND DIVIDENDS

Share Repurchases

Share repurchase activity during the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 follows (in millions except per share amounts):

	2021		2020
Number of shares repurchased	2.2		1.2
Amount paid	$	252.2	$	98.8
Weighted average cost per share	$	116.09	$	85.06

As of December 31, 2021 and 2020 there were no repurchased shares pending settlement.

In October 2017, our Board of Directors added $2.0 billion to the existing share repurchase authorization, which continued through December 31, 2020. In October 2020, our Board of Directors approved a $2.0 billion share repurchase authorization effective starting January 1, 2021 and extending through December 31, 2023. Share repurchases under the current program may be made through open market purchases or privately negotiated transactions in accordance with applicable federal securities laws. While the Board of Directors has approved the program, the timing of any purchases, the prices and the number of shares of common stock to be purchased will be determined by our management, at its discretion, and will depend upon market conditions and other factors. The share repurchase program may be extended, suspended or discontinued at any time. As of December 31, 2021, the remaining authorized purchase capacity under our October 2020 repurchase program was $1.7 billion. On a quarterly basis, our Board of Directors reviews the intrinsic value of our stock and the parameters around which we repurchase our shares.

In December 2020, our board of directors changed the status of 35,789,806 treasury shares to authorized and unissued. In doing so, the number of our issued shares was reduced by the stated amount. Our accounting policy is to deduct the par value from common stock and to reflect the excess of cost over par value as a deduction from additional paid-in capital. The reduction in issued shares resulted in a change of $2,316.0 million in treasury stock which was reclassified as $0.3 million in common stock, and $2,315.7 million in additional paid-in capital. There was no effect on our total stockholders' equity position as a result of the change.

Dividends

In October 2021, our Board of Directors approved a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share. Aggregate cash dividends declared were $563.0 million, $528.8 million and $499.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. As of December 31, 2021, we recorded a quarterly dividend payable of $145.9 million to shareholders of record at the close of business on January 3, 2021.