CAPITAL STOCK

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

NOTE 17 CAPITAL STOCK

Authorized Capital Stock

The total number of shares of all classes of stock that the Company has authority to issue under its Restated Certificate of Incorporation is 1.02 billion shares with a par value of $0.01, of which 1.0 billion are shares of common stock, 10.0 million are shares of preferred stock and 10.0 million are shares of series common stock. The preferred stock and series common stock can be issued with varying terms, as determined by the Board.

Share Repurchase Program

The Company implemented a systematic share repurchase program in the third quarter of 2005 through an SEC Rule 10b5-1 program. Moody’s may also purchase opportunistically when conditions warrant. As a result, Moody’s share repurchase activity will continue to vary from quarter to quarter. The table below summarizes the Company’s remaining authority under its share repurchase program as of December 31, 2017:

Date Authorized		Amount Authorized			Remaining Authority
December 15, 2015		$	1,000.0		$	527.0

During 2017, Moody’s repurchased 1.6 million shares of its common stock under its share repurchase program and issued 2.4 million shares under employee stock-based compensation plans.

Dividends

The Company’s cash dividends were:

	Dividends Per Share
	Year ended December 31,
	2017				2016				2015
	Declared		Paid			Declared	Paid		Declared		Paid
First quarter	$	-	$	0.38	$	-	$	0.37	$	-	$	0.34
Second quarter		0.38		0.38		0.37		0.37		0.34		0.34
Third quarter		0.38		0.38		0.37		0.37		0.34		0.34
Fourth quarter		0.38		0.38		0.75		0.37		0.71		0.34
Total	$	1.14	$	1.52	$	1.49	$	1.48	$	1.39	$	1.36

On January 24, 2018, the Board approved the declaration of a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share of Moody’s common stock, payable on March 12, 2018 to shareholders of record at the close of business on February 20, 2018. The continued payment of dividends at the rate noted above, or at all, is subject to the discretion of the Board.