DIVIDEND REINVESTMENT AND COMMON STOCK REPURCHASE PLAN

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Dividend Reinvestment and Common Stock Repurchase Plan [Abstract]

DIVIDEND REINVESTMENT AND COMMON STOCK REPURCHASE PLAN

DIVIDEND REINVESTMENT AND COMMON STOCK REPURCHASE PLAN

We have in effect a DRIP which allows enrolled shareholders to reinvest dividends paid to them by the Company into new shares of our stock.  The DRIP is funded by stock authorized but not yet issued.  For the year ended December 31, 2020, 47,157 shares were issued under this plan at an average price of $30.21 per share, reflective of other trades at the time of each sale.  For the year ended December 31, 2019, 42,438 shares were issued under this plan at an average price of $34.04 per share, reflective of other trades at the time of each sale.

We repurchased 1,035,901 shares of our common stock at a cost of $31.0 million during the year ended December 31, 2020, 66,467 shares of common stock at a cost of $2.2 million during the year ended December 31, 2019, and 1,459,148 shares of common stock at a cost of $47.2 million during the year ended December 31, 2018. Repurchased shares are designated as treasury shares and are available for general corporate purposes, which may include possible use in connection with our share-based incentive plans and other distributions. Our board of directors continually evaluates the Company's capital needs and those of the Bank and may, at its discretion, initiate, modify or discontinue an authorized repurchase plan without notice.