Stockholders' Equity

3 Months Ended

Oct. 31, 2011

Stockholders' Equity Note [Abstract]

Stockholders' Equity

(19)Stockholders' Equity

Stock Repurchase Program

Pursuant to a September 27, 2011 authorization from our Board of Directors, we can repurchase up to $250,000,000 of our common stock. There is no time restriction on this authorization and repurchases may be made in open-market or privately negotiated transactions and may be made pursuant to SEC Rule10b5-1 trading plans. During the three months ended October 31, 2011, we repurchased 2,717,393 shares in open-market transactions for an aggregate cost of $81,152,000 (including transaction costs), with an average price per share of $29.86.   As of October 31, 2011, we can repurchase an additional $147,402,000 of our common stock pursuant to our current $250,000,000 authorization.

During the three months ended October 31, 2010, we repurchased 720,996 shares in open-market transactions for an aggregate cost of $20,198,000 (including transaction costs), with an average price per share of $28.01. These repurchases were made pursuant to a $100,000,000 million repurchase plan which was ultimately completed in July 2011.

Dividends

On September 27, 2011, our Board of Directors raised the targeted annual cash dividend from $1.00 per common share to $1.10 per common share, and declared a cash dividend of $0.275 per common share, which was paid to shareholders on November 22, 2011.

On December 8, 2011, our Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $0.275 per common share to be paid on February 22, 2012 to shareholders of record at the close of business on January 20, 2012. While future dividends will be subject to Board approval, our Board of Directors is currently targeting annual cash dividend payments aggregating $1.10 per common share.