COMMON STOCK REPURCHASES AND CASH DIVIDENDS:

Common Stock Repurchases

As of December 31, 2017, the Company had approximately $44.4 million available under its stock-repurchase program. In January 2018, the Company’s board of directors authorized the use of an additional $30.0 million for the repurchase of the Company’s common stock, with repurchases to be executed according to pre-defined price/volume guidelines. In the nine months ended September 30, 2018, the Company repurchased approximately 1.1 million shares of its common stock for approximately $74.4 million, thus completing the Company’s authorized repurchase programs. As of September 30, 2018, the Company had used up the entire amount authorized for repurchase. In October 2018, the Company’s board of directors authorized the use of an additional $80.0 million for the repurchase of the Company’s common stock, with repurchases to be executed according to pre-defined price/volume guidelines. Authorization of future repurchase programs is at the discretion of the board of directors and will depend on the Company’s financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements, business conditions and other factors.

Cash Dividends

In January 2018, the Company’s board of directors declared four quarterly cash dividends in the amount of $0.16 per share to be paid to stockholders of record at the end of each quarter in 2018. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018, and September 30, 2017, cash dividends declared and paid were as follows:



	Three Months Ended				Nine Months Ended
(In thousands, except per share amounts)	September 30, 2018		September 30, 2017		September 30, 2018		September 30, 2017
Dividends declared and paid	$	4,692	$	4,164	$	14,172	$	12,463
Dividends declared and paid per common share	$	0.16	$	0.14	$	0.48	$	0.42