Equity

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2020

Equity [Abstract]

Equity

Equity

The decrease in common stock during the nine months ended September 30, 2020, was primarily due to the repurchases of 8.2 million shares, partially offset by the issuance of 1.9 million shares of the Company’s common stock under the Company’s stock-based compensation plans and the issuance of 0.1 million shares of the Company's common stock as part of the acquisition of Vaporsens (see Note 16 for more information). The total net decrease was 6.2 million shares.

The Company announced a $0.005 (1/2 cent) per share increase in its quarterly cash dividend rate during the first quarter of 2020. As such, the Company recorded a cash dividend of $0.120 per share during the third quarter of 2020 as compared to a cash dividend of $0.115 per share during the third quarter of 2019. The third quarter 2020 dividend of $29.4 million was declared on August 31, 2020, and was paid on October 21, 2020.