Stockholders' Equity (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2017

Equity [Abstract]

Common Stock Activity

Common stock activity is as follows:

	Three Months Ended
	March 31, 2017
Actual number of shares of common stock outstanding
Beginning of period		357,465,614
Shares of common stock issued through compensation plans		578,922
Employee benefit trust activity		187,530
Repurchases of common stock		(929,851	)
End of period		357,302,215

Summary of Dividends Declared on Nielsen's Common Stock

The below table summarizes the dividends declared on Nielsen’s common stock during 2016 and the three months ended March 31, 2017.

Declaration Date	Record Date	Payment Date	Dividend Per Share
February 18, 2016	March 3, 2016	March 17, 2016	$	0.28
April 19, 2016	June 2, 2016	June 16, 2016	$	0.31
July 21, 2016	August 25, 2016	September 8, 2016	$	0.31
October 20, 2016	November 22, 2016	December 6, 2016	$	0.31
February 16, 2017	March 2, 2017	March 16, 2017	$	0.31

Summary of Approved Authorized Shares for Repurchase

Board Approval	Share Repurchase Authorization ($ in millions)
July 25, 2013	$	500
October 23, 2014	$	1,000
December 11, 2015	$	500
Total Share Repurchase Authorization	$	2,000

Summary of Open Market Share Repurchases Activity

The activity for the three months ended March 31, 2017 consisted of open market share repurchases and is summarized in the following table:

					Total Number of
					Shares Purchased as		Dollar Value of Shares
	Total Number		Average		Part of Publicly		that may yet be
	of Shares		Price Paid		Announced Plans		Purchased under the
Period	Purchased		per Share		or Programs		Plans or Programs
As of December 31, 2016		33,837,526	$	46.16		33,837,526	$	437,970,016
2017 Activity
January 1- 31		—		—		—	$	437,970,016
February 1- 28		564,623	$	45.30		564,623	$	412,392,848
March 1- 31		365,228	$	45.15		365,228	$	395,903,537
Total		34,767,377	$	46.14		34,767,377