Stock Options and Awards

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Share-based Payment Arrangement [Abstract]

Stock options and awards

Note 11 – Stock Options and Awards

On May 29, 2015, the Company's shareholders approved the Ocean Bio-Chem, Inc. 2015 Equity Compensation Plan (the "Plan"). The Plan provides for grants of several types of awards at the discretion of the Equity Grant Committee of the Company's Board of Directors, including stock options, stock units, stock awards, stock appreciation rights and other stock-based awards. The Plan authorizes the issuance of 630,000 shares of Company common stock, subject to anti-dilution adjustments upon the occurrence of certain events affecting the common stock. During 2020 and 2019, the Company granted stock awards under the Plan aggregating 25,150 and 83,000 shares of common stock, respectively, to officers, key employees, and directors. Following the withholding of an aggregate of 1,456 and 6,310 shares of common stock, respectively, in connection with a tax withholding feature of the Plan, 23,694 and 76,690 shares were issued to the award recipients, during 2020 and 2019, respectively. The shares vested immediately upon issuance and were fully expensed in the period in which they were awarded. Compensation expense related to the stock awards was $312,610 and $275,540 in 2020 and 2019, respectively. The value of the shares the Company withheld for taxes related to the stock awards was $19,991 and $20,949 in 2020 and 2019, respectively. At December 31, 2020, 153,850 shares remained available for future issuance under the Plan.  As a result of the adoption of the Plan, no further stock awards will be made under the Company's equity compensation plans previously approved by its shareholders (the "Prior Plans").

Prior to the May 29, 2015 effective date of the Plan, stock options were granted under the Prior Plans. The Company had no outstanding options under the Prior Plans on December 31, 2020. The last tranche of non-qualified options was exercised before their expiration date of April 25, 2020. There was no compensation expense attributable to stock options recognized during 2020 and 2019, and at December 31, 2020 and 2019, there was no unrecognized compensation cost related to share based compensation arrangements

During 2020, stock options to purchase an aggregate of 20,000 shares of common stock were exercised. The Company received a total of $20,700, withheld 4,704 shares in connection with the net exercise feature of the stock options and issued an aggregate of 15,296 shares to the option holders who exercised their options.

During 2019, stock options to purchase an aggregate of 30,000 shares of common stock were exercised. The Company received a total of $13,799, withheld 2,072 shares in connection with the net exercise feature of the stock options and issued an aggregate of 27,928 shares to the option holders who exercised their options.

The following table provides information relating to stock option transactions during the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019:

	2020					2019
				Weighted					Weighted
				Average					Average
				Exercise					Exercise
	Shares			Price		Shares			Price
Options outstanding beginning of the year		20,000		$	2.07		50,000		$	1.24
Options exercised		(20,000	)		2.07		(30,000	)		0.69
Total		--		$	--		20,000		$	2.07