Shareholders’ Equity (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

Common stock activity is as follows:

	Three Months Ended
	March 31, 2019
Actual number of shares of common stock outstanding
Beginning of period		355,271,737
Shares of common stock issued through compensation plans		177,476
Employee benefit trust activity		44,801
End of period		355,494,014

Summary of Dividends Declared on Nielsen's Common Stock

The following table represents the cash dividends declared by the Board and paid for the years ended December 31, 2018 and the three months ended March 31, 2019, respectively.

Declaration Date	Record Date	Payment Date	Dividend Per Share
February 21, 2018	March 7, 2018	March 21, 2018	$	0.34
April 19, 2018	June 6, 2018	June 20, 2018	$	0.35
July 19, 2018	August 22, 2018	September 5, 2018	$	0.35
October 18, 2018	November 21, 2018	December 5, 2018	$	0.35
February 21, 2019	March 7, 2019	March 21, 2019	$	0.35

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