Shareholders' Equity (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Common stock activity is as follows:

	Nine Months Ended
	September 30, 2019
Actual number of shares of common stock outstanding
Beginning of period		355,271,737
Shares of common stock issued through compensation plans		495,256
Employee benefit trust activity		43,268
End of period		355,810,261

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 nine months ended September 30, 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
April 18, 2019	June 5, 2019	June 19, 2019	$	0.35
July 18, 2019	August 22, 2019	September 5, 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