Restricted Stock Units

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2015

Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Abstract]

Note 14 — Restricted Stock Units

The Company has adopted an equity incentive plan to motivate its employees and allow them to participate in the ownership of its stock. Under the Company’s plan, restricted stock units, which represent a right to a future payment equal to one share of common stock, may be awarded to employees, directors and certain other non-employees as selected by the Compensation Committee. Awards granted under the plan generally vest ratably over a period of five years beginning on the first anniversary of the grant date or in full on the fifth anniversary of the grant date. To the extent the restricted stock units are outstanding at the time a dividend is paid on the common stock, a dividend equivalent amount is paid to the holders of the restricted stock units. In the event that the holder’s employment is terminated under circumstances in which units awarded under the plan are forfeited any dividend equivalent payments related to such forfeiture, which are unvested for accounting purposes, are required to be repaid to the Company.

The activity related to the restricted stock units is set forth below:



	Restricted Stock Units Outstanding
	2015					2014
	Units			Grant Date Weighted Average Fair Value		Units		Grant Date Weighted Average Fair Value
Outstanding, January 1,	3,065,363			$	56.04	3,503,450		$	61.54
Granted	1,772,439		⁽¹⁾	36.45		1,287,658		49.76
Delivered	(843,032	)		62.07		(1,027,852	)	64.94
Forfeited	(271,641	)		48.69		(697,893	)	56.95
Outstanding, December 31,	3,723,129			$	45.88	3,065,363		$	56.04

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(1)	Excludes 1,999,552 stock units granted to employees subsequent to December 31, 2015 as part of the long term incentive awards program.

For the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, the Company recognized compensation expense from the amortization of restricted stock units, net of forfeitures, of $46.5 million, $39.6 million and $56.1 million, respectively.

The weighted-average grant date fair value for restricted stock units granted during the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013 was $36.45, $49.76 and $57.95, respectively. As of December 31, 2015, unrecognized restricted stock units compensation expense was approximately $72.8 million, with such unrecognized compensation expense expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of approximately 1.8 years.

The Company issues restricted stock units to employees under the equity incentive plan, primarily in connection with its annual bonus awards and compensation agreements for new hires. In certain jurisdictions, the Company may settle share-based payment awards in cash in lieu of shares of common stock to obtain tax deductibility. In these circumstances, the awards are settled in the cash equivalent value of the Company's shares of common stock based upon their value at settlement date. These cash settled share-based awards are classified as liabilities and are remeasured at fair value at each reporting period.