Share Repurchases

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2015

Stockholders' Equity Note [Abstract]

Share repurchases

17. Share Repurchases

In January 2015, the Board of Directors approved a new standing share repurchase authorization, whereby the Company may repurchase up to 15,000,000 shares of its common stock over the following three years. During the three months ended March 31, 2015, the Company repurchased 2,753,165 shares of common stock under this program for $200,055, or an average share price of $72.66. As of March 31, 2015, there were 12,246,835 shares available to purchase under the January 2015 plan.Treasury shares increased to 95,633,809 at March 31, 2015 from a balance of 92,880,644 at December 31, 2014.

During the three months ended March 31, 2014, the Company completed its $1.0 billion share repurchase program through an accelerated share repurchase transaction, whereby Dover paid $292,565 to receive a variable number of shares over a specified period of time. The Company repurchased 3,596,980 shares under this transaction for an average share price of $81.06.