Shareholders' Equity (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2021

Common stock activity is as follows:

	Three Months Ended
	March 31, 2021
Actual number of shares of common stock outstanding
Beginning of period		357,644,935
Shares of common stock issued through compensation plans		852,258
Employee benefit trust activity		(62	)
End of period		358,497,131

Summary of Dividends Declared on Nielsen's Common Stock

The following table represents the cash dividends declared by the Board and paid to shareholders foryears ended December 31, 2020 and the three months ended March 31, 2021, respectively.

Declaration Date	Record Date	Payment Date	Dividend Per Share
February 20, 2020	March 5, 2020	March 19, 2020	$	0.06
April 16, 2020	June 4, 2020	June 18, 2020	$	0.06
July 16, 2020	August 20, 2020	September 3, 2020	$	0.06
October 27, 2020	November 19, 2020	December 3, 2020	$	0.06
February 4, 2021	March 4, 2021	March 18, 2021	$	0.06

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