SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2012

Notes to Financial Statements [Abstract]

SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY

SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY

The following table is a reconciliation of the number of shares of the Company's common stock for the three-month periods ended March 31.

(In thousands of shares)	2012		2011
Common stock - issued:
Balance, beginning of period	663,639		662,660
Exercise of stock options and issuance of restricted shares	798		670
Balance, end of period	664,437		663,330
Treasury stock:
Balance, beginning of period	197,329		192,999
Purchases of treasury stock:
Open market	0		3,100
Other	199		151
Dispositions of treasury stock:
Shares issued to AFL Stock Plan	(381	)	(325	)
Exercise of stock options	(39	)	(81	)
Other	(134	)	(78	)
Balance, end of period	196,974		195,766
Shares outstanding, end of period	467,463		467,564

Outstanding share-based awards are excluded from the calculation of weighted-average shares used in the computation of basic earnings per share (EPS). The following table presents the approximate number of share-based awards to purchase shares, on a weighted-average basis, that were considered to be anti-dilutive and were excluded from the calculation of diluted earnings per share for the three-month periods ended March 31.

(In thousands)	2012	2011
Anti-dilutive share-based awards	5,457	2,592

Share Repurchase Program:During the first quarter of 2012, we did not repurchase any shares of our common stock in the open market. We repurchased 3.1 million shares of our common stock in the first quarter of 2011.

As of March 31, 2012, a remaining balance of 24.4 million shares of our common stock was available for purchase under a share repurchase authorization by our board of directors in 2008.