REPURCHASES OF COMMON STOCK

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2018

REPURCHASES OF COMMON STOCK [Abstract]

REPURCHASES OF COMMON STOCK

5. REPURCHASES OF COMMON STOCK

During the three-month periods ended September 30, 2018 and 2017, the Company repurchased 0.2 million and 0.4 million shares of its Class A common stock under its open market stock repurchase plans for $12.4 million and $25.7 million, respectively.  During the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2018 and September 30, 2017, the Company repurchased 0.6 million and 0.8 million shares of its Class A common stock under its open market repurchase plans for $48.2 million and $47.8 million, respectively. In July 2018, the previous stock repurchase plan was terminated and replaced by a new repurchase plan with an initial authorization amount of $500 million. As of September 30, 2018, $492.4 million was available for repurchases under the Company’s open market stock repurchase plan.