Capital Stock

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2016

Equity [Abstract]

Capital Stock

Capital Stock

The Company has the authority to issue an aggregate of 750 million shares of common stock having a par value of $0.01 per share. The stockholders of Xylem common stock are entitled to receive dividends as declared by the Xylem Board of Directors. Dividends declared were $0.6196, $0.5632 and $0.5120 during 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

The changes in shares of common stock outstanding for the three years ended December 31 are as follows:

(in thousands of shares)	2016		2015		2014
Beginning Balance, January 1	178,377		182,300		184,557
Stock incentive plan net activity	1,085		1,280		1,226
Repurchase of common stock	(95	)	(5,203	)	(3,483	)
Ending Balance, December 31	179,367		178,377		182,300

On August 24, 2015, our Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to $500 million in shares with no expiration date. The program's objective is to deploy our capital in a manner that benefits our shareholders and maintains our focus on growth. During 2015, we repurchased 2.3 million shares for $80 million under this program. There were no shares repurchased under this program during 2016. There are up to $420 million in shares that may still be purchased under this plan as of December 31, 2016.

On August 20, 2013, our Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to $250 million in shares with no expiration date. The program's objective was to deploy our capital in a manner that benefited our shareholders and maintain our focus on growth. During 2015, we repurchased 2.0 million shares for $70 million under this program. As of December 31, 2015, we exhausted the authorized amount to repurchase shares under this plan.

On August 18, 2012, the Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to 2.0 million shares of common stock with no expiration date. The program's objective is to offset dilution associated with various Xylem employee stock plans by acquiring shares in the open market from time to time. There were no shares repurchased under this program during 2016. During 2015 we repurchased 0.8 million shares for $25 million. There are up to 0.3 million shares (approximately $12 million in value) that may still be purchased under this plan as of December 31, 2016.

Aside from the aforementioned repurchase programs, we repurchased 0.1 million and 0.1 million shares for $4 million and $4 million during 2016 and 2015, respectively, in relation to settlement of employee tax withholding obligations due as a result of the vesting of restricted stock units. These repurchases are included in the stock incentive plan net activity in the above table.