STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

The following table summarizes information about shares of the Company’s common stock at:



	September 30,		December 31,
(In thousands)	2017	2016	2016
Common stock authorized	75,000	75,000	75,000
Common stock issued	27,625	27,308	27,434
Treasury stock	2,684	2,684	2,684

The following reconciliation details the denominator used in the computation of basic and diluted earnings per share:



	Nine Months Ended September 30,		Three Months Ended September 30,
(In thousands)	2017	2016	2017	2016
Weighted average shares outstanding for basic earnings per share	24,993	24,587	25,060	24,724
Common stock equivalents pertaining to stock-based awards	339	295	399	336
Weighted average shares outstanding for diluted earnings per share	25,332	24,882	25,459	25,060

The weighted average diluted shares outstanding for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, exclude the effect of 117,223 and 219,302 shares of common stock, respectively, subject to stock-based awards. The weighted average diluted shares outstanding for the three months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, exclude the effect of 64,353 and 171,514 shares of common stock, respectively, subject to stock-based awards. Such shares were excluded from total diluted shares because they were anti-dilutive or the specified performance conditions those shares were subject to were not yet achieved.

In 2016, the Company initiated the payment of regular quarterly dividends. The table below summarizes the regular quarterly dividends declared and paid during the periods ended September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016:



(In thousands, except per share data)	Per Share		Record Date	Payment Date	Total Paid
First Quarter 2016	$	0.30	04/01/16	04/15/16	$	7,344
Second Quarter 2016	0.30		06/06/16	06/17/16	7,363
Third Quarter 2016	0.30		08/19/16	09/02/16	7,371
Fourth Quarter 2016	0.50		11/28/16	12/09/16	12,359
Total 2016	$	1.40			$	34,437

First Quarter 2017	$	0.50	03/06/17	03/17/17	$	12,442
Second Quarter 2017	0.50		05/19/17	06/02/17	12,445
Third Quarter 2017	0.50		08/18/17	09/01/17	12,459
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2017	$	1.50			$	37,346

In February 2017, the Company issued 63,677 deferred stock units at the average price of $108.47, or $6.9 million, to executive officers in lieu of cash for a portion of their 2016 incentive compensation. In February 2016, the Company issued 4,784 deferred stock units at the average price of $55.22, or $0.3 million, to executive officers in lieu of cash for a portion of their 2015 incentive compensation.