Partners' Capital, Equity and Incentive Compensation Plans (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2016

Partners' Capital, Equity and Incentive Compensation Plans [Abstract]

Summary of Award Activity Under 2010 Equity Incentive Plan and 2013 Equity Incentive Plan and Related Information

The following is a summary of award activity under the 2010 Equity Incentive Plan and 2013 Equity Incentive Plan and related information for the three months ended March 31, 2016:  

	2010 Equity Incentive Plan					2013 Equity Incentive Plan
	Number of Class O units	Weighted average exercise price	Weighted average fair     value	Number of Class RS units	Weighted average grant date value	Options	Weighted average exercise price	Weighted average fair     value	Restricted Stock		Weighted average grant date value
Outstanding at December 31, 2015	1,292,899	$23.76	$3.68	39,875	$22.18	867,882	$27.80	$5.56	394,908		$33.82
Granted	—	—	—	—	—	229,693	45.78	9.91	205,508		45.89
Exercised/Vested	(21,925)	23.15	3.36	—	—	(5,063)	26.00	5.21	(45,890)	(1)	33.93
Released from restriction (2)	—	—	—	(31,187)	21.39	—	—	—	—		—
Cancelled/Expired (3)	—	—	—	—	—	(1,250)	28.82	5.98	(21,335)		35.44
Outstanding at March 31, 2016	1,270,974	$23.77	$3.68	8,688	$25.00	1,091,262	$31.59	$6.47	533,191		$38.40

(1) This represents the Class A common stock that has been released from restriction and which was not surrendered by the holder to satisfy their statutory minimum federal and state tax obligations associated with the vesting of restricted common stock.

(2) This represents Class RS units that upon vesting have converted to Operating Partnership units.

(3) Includes 21,335 restricted Class A common stock surrendered by certain employees to satisfy their statutory minimum federal and state tax obligations associated with the vesting of restricted common stock.

Summary of Assumptions and Fair Values for Restricted Stock and Options to Purchase Shares of Class A Common Stock Granted

Class O units and options to purchase shares of Class A common stock were valued using the Black-Scholes model.

	Three Months Ended March 31, 2016
Fair value of restricted stock granted	$45.78-$47.38
Fair value of options granted	$9.57-$9.97
Expected term (years)	5.5-5.9
Expected volatility	30.7-31.3%
Expected dividend yield	3.14%
Expected risk-free interest rates	1.42-1.48%

Summary of Information About Awards Outstanding

The following table summarizes information about awards outstanding as of March 31, 2016.

		Operating Partnership Awards Outstanding
	Exercise prices		Awards outstanding	Weighted average remaining vesting period (years)
Class RS Units	$	-	8,688	0.3
Class O Units	$	20.00-25.00	1,270,974	0.4
Total Operating Partnership awards outstanding			1,279,662

		QTS Realty Trust, Inc. Awards Outstanding
	Exercise prices		Awards outstanding	Weighted average remaining vesting period (years)
Restricted stock	$	-	533,191	2.5
Options to purchase Class A common stock	$	21.00-45.78	1,091,262	1.3
Total QTS Realty Trust, Inc. awards outstanding			1,624,453

Schedule of Quarterly Cash Dividends

The following tables present quarterly cash dividends and distributions paid to QTS’ common stockholders and the Operating Partnership’s unit holders for the three months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015:

Three Months Ended March 31, 2016
Record Date	Payment Date	Per Common Share and Per Unit Rate		Aggregate Dividend/Distribution Amount (in millions)
December 17, 2015	January 6, 2016	$	0.32	$	15.4
		$	0.32	$	15.4

Three Months Ended March 31, 2015
Record Date	Payment Date	Per Common Share and Per Unit Rate		Aggregate Dividend/Distribution Amount (in millions)
December 19, 2014	January 7, 2015	$	0.29	$	10.7
		$	0.29	$	10.7