STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

12 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2016

STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY [Abstract]

STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

10. STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

On August 13, 2015, our board of directors authorized the Company to repurchase up to 500,000 shares of our outstanding common stock over a 12-month period beginning on August 17, 2015 through August 16, 2016. The plan authorized purchases to be made from time to time in the open market, or in privately negotiated transactions, subject to availability. Any repurchased shares will have the status of treasury shares and may be used, when needed, for general corporate purposes. This new authorization replaced the company’s previous repurchase plan which expired on June 15, 2015.

During the year ended March 31, 2016, we repurchased 116,302 shares of our outstanding common stock at an average cost of $76.21 per share for a total purchase price of $8.9 million under the share repurchase plans. We also purchased 30,447 shares of common stock to satisfy tax withholding obligations to the vesting of employees’ restricted stock.

During the year ended March 31, 2015, we repurchased 700,113 shares of our outstanding common stock at an average cost of $50.93 per share for a total purchase price of $35.7 million under the share repurchase plan, and 35,158 were repurchased to satisfy tax withholding obligations due to the vesting of employees’ restricted stock.

Since the inception of our initial repurchase program on September 20, 2001 to March 31, 2016, we have repurchased approximately 5.7 million shares of our outstanding common stock at an average cost of $21.15 per share for a total purchase price of $120.5 million.