SHARE REPURCHASE PROGRAM

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Share Repurchase Program

Share repurchase program

NOTE 10 – SHARE REPURCHASE PROGRAM

In January of 2011, the Company’s Board of Directors approved a share repurchase program.  Under the program, the Company may, from time to time, repurchase shares of its common stock, solely through open market purchases effected through a broker dealer at prevailing market prices, based on a variety of factors such as price, corporate trading policy requirements, and overall market conditions.  The Company’s Board of Directors may increase or otherwise modify, renew, suspend, or terminate the share repurchase program at any time, without prior notice.  As announced on November 15, 2022, May 23, 2023, and November 16, 2023, the Company’s Board of Directors approved a resolution to increase the authorization amount under the share repurchase program by an additional $1.5 billion, $2.0 billion, and $2.0 billion, respectively, resulting in a cumulative authorization amount of $25.8 billion.  The additional authorizations are effective for three years, beginning on its respective announcement date.  

The following table identifies shares of the Company’s common stock that have been repurchased as part of the Company’s publicly announced share repurchase program for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 (in thousands, except per share data):

	For the Year Ended
	December 31,
	2023		2022
Shares repurchased		3,568		4,961
Average price per share	$	883.13	$	661.66
Total investment	$	3,151,120	$	3,282,215

As of December 31, 2023, the Company had $2.6 billion remaining under its share repurchase program.  Excise tax on shares repurchased, assessed at one percent of the fair market value of net shares repurchased, was $28.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2023.

Subsequent to the end of the year and through February 28, 2024, the Company repurchased an additional 0.2 million shares of its common stock under its share repurchase program, at an average price of $1,001.04, for a total investment of $184.4 million.  The Company has repurchased a total of 94.3 million shares of its common stock under its share repurchase program since the inception of the program in January of 2011 and through February 28, 2024, at an average price of $247.83, for a total aggregate investment of $23.4 billion.  As of February 28, 2024, we had approximately $2.4 billion remaining under our share repurchase program.