Note 8. Equity Dividends On October 24, 2023, our Board of Directors declared the 2023 fourth quarter cash dividend of $1.00 per share of common stock, payable on December 1, 2023 to stockholders of record as of November 17, 2023. During the third quarters of 2023 and 2022, we declared and paid quarterly dividends of $1.00 and $0.875 per share, or $58.5 million and $52.5 million in total, respectively. During the nine months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, we declared and paid aggregate quarterly dividends of $3.00 and $2.625 per share, or $176.1 million and $160.6 million in total, respectively. In addition, we paid $3.2 million and $2.9 million in dividend equivalents with respect to vested restricted stock units during the nine months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Stock-Based Compensation We make annual grants of long-term equity incentive awards to officers and key employees under our Second Amended and Restated 2015 Incentive Award Plan in the forms of service-based restricted stock units (“RSUs”) and performance-based restricted stock units (“PSUs”) that each have approximately 3-year vesting periods. The PSUs include the right to receive a maximum payout of two shares of our common stock based on performance goals tied to achieving a 3-year return on assets result and include service criteria. We also grant the non-management members of our Board of Directors fully vested stock awards under our Directors Equity Plan. The fair values of the RSUs, PSUs and stock awards are determined based on the closing stock price of our common stock on the grant date. In the nine months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, we made payments of $41.3 million and $21.6 million, respectively, to tax authorities on our employees’ behalf for shares withheld related to net share settlement of vested restricted stock units. A summary of the status of our unvested RSUs and PSUs as of September 30, 2023, and changes during the nine months then ended is as follows: | | | | | | | | | | Weighted | | | | | Average | | | RSU and PSU | | Grant Date | | | Aggregate Units | | Fair Value | Unvested at January 1, 2023 | | 582,012 | | $ | 164.60 | Granted(1) | | 193,812 | | | 247.90 | Vested | | (4,075) | | | 157.22 | Cancelled or forfeited | | (13,693) | | | 177.18 | Unvested at September 30, 2023 | | 758,056 | | $ | 185.71 | Shares reserved for future grants (all plans) | | 1,479,570 | | | |
(1) | Comprised of 109,683 RSUs and 84,129 PSUs granted in February 2023. The RSUs cliff vest on December 1, 2025 and the PSUs are subject to a 3-year performance period ending December 31, 2025. |
As of September 30, 2023, there was $82.5 million of total unrecognized compensation cost related to unvested RSUs and PSUs that is expected to be recognized, net of actual forfeitures and cancellations, over a weighted average period of 1.7 years. Share Repurchases Our share repurchase activity during the nine months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022 was as follows: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2023 | | 2022 | | | | | Average Cost | | | | | | | Average Cost | | | | | | Shares | | Per Share | | Amount | | Shares | | Per Share | | Amount | | | | | | | | (in millions) | | | | | | | (in millions) | First quarter | | 160,224 | | $ | 242.86 | | $ | 38.9 | | 113,529 | | $ | 150.97 | | $ | 17.1 | Second quarter | | 308,454 | | | 239.55 | | | 73.9 | | 1,085,635 | | | 178.61 | | | 193.9 | Third quarter | | 467,213 | | | 270.49 | | | 126.4 | | 1,883,093 | | | 178.79 | | | 336.7 | | | 935,891 | | $ | 255.56 | | $ | 239.2 | | 3,082,257 | | $ | 177.70 | | $ | 547.7 |
From October 2, 2023 through October 24, 2023, we repurchased 575,060 shares at an average cost per share of $255.15, for a total of $146.7 million, resulting in $294.8 million of our common stock remaining available for repurchase under our July 2022 authorization. Our Board of Directors subsequently amended our share repurchase program to increase the repurchase authorization to $1.5 billion effective October 30, 2023. The share repurchase program does not obligate us to repurchase any specific number of shares, does not have a specific expiration date and may be suspended or discontinued at any time. Repurchased and subsequently retired shares are restored to the status of authorized but unissued shares. We may repurchase shares through a variety of methods including, but not limited to, open market purchases, accelerated share repurchases, negotiated block purchases and transactions structured through investment banking institutions under plans relying on Rule 10b5-1 and/or Rule 10b-18 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss Accumulated other comprehensive loss included the following: | | | | | | | | | | | | | Pension and | | | | Foreign Currency | | Postretirement Benefit | | Accumulated Other | | Translation | | Plan Adjustments, | | Comprehensive | | Loss | | Net of Tax | | Loss | | | | | (in millions) | | | | Balance as of January 1, 2023 | $ | (84.0) | | $ | (2.3) | | $ | (86.3) | Current-period change | | (10.7) | | | (2.4) | | | (13.1) | Balance as of September 30, 2023 | $ | (94.7) | | $ | (4.7) | | $ | (99.4) |
Foreign currency translation adjustments have not been adjusted for income taxes. Pension and postretirement benefit plan adjustments are amortized over service periods and reflected in the amortization of net loss component of our net periodic benefit cost or are otherwise recognized as a loss as a result of plan settlements. Pension and postretirement benefit plan adjustments are net of taxes of $1.3 million as of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022. The income tax effects are released from accumulated other comprehensive loss and included in our income tax provision as obligations under our pension and postretirement plans are settled.
|