Capital Stock

At December 31, 2018, Altria had 12 billion shares of authorized common stock; issued, repurchased and outstanding shares of common stock were as follows:



	Shares Issued	Shares Repurchased		Shares Outstanding
Balances, December 31, 2015	2,805,961,317	(845,901,836	)	1,960,059,481
Stock award activity	—	(566,256	)	(566,256	)
Repurchases of common stock	—	(16,221,001	)	(16,221,001	)
Balances, December 31, 2016	2,805,961,317	(862,689,093	)	1,943,272,224
Stock award activity	—	(408,891	)	(408,891	)
Repurchases of common stock	—	(41,604,141	)	(41,604,141	)
Balances, December 31, 2017	2,805,961,317	(904,702,125	)	1,901,259,192
Stock award activity	—	676,727		676,727
Repurchases of common stock	—	(27,878,324	)	(27,878,324	)
Balances, December 31, 2018	2,805,961,317	(931,903,722	)	1,874,057,595

At December 31, 2018, 40,400,278 shares of common stock were reserved for stock-based awards under Altria’s stock plans, and 10 million shares of serial preferred stock, $1.00 par value, were authorized. No shares of serial preferred stock have been issued.

▪Dividends: During the first quarter of 2018, Altria’s Board of Directors (the “Board of Directors”) approved a 6.1% increase in the quarterly dividend rate to $0.70 per share of Altria common stock versus the previous rate of $0.66 per share. During the third quarter of 2018, the Board of Directors approved an additional 14.3% increase in the quarterly dividend rate to $0.80 per share of Altria common stock, resulting in an overall quarterly dividend rate increase of 21.2% since the beginning of 2018. The current annualized dividend rate is $3.20 per share. Future dividend payments remain subject to the discretion of the Board of Directors.

▪Share Repurchases: In July 2015, the Board of Directors authorized a $1.0 billion share repurchase program that it expanded to $3.0 billion in October 2016 and to $4.0 billion in July 2017 (as expanded, the “July 2015 share repurchase program”). During 2018, 2017 and 2016, Altria repurchased 0.3 million shares, 41.6 million shares, and 16.2 million shares, respectively, of its common stock (at an aggregate cost of approximately $18 million, $2,917 million and $1,030 million, respectively, and at an average price of $71.68 per share, $70.10 per share and $63.48 per share, respectively) under the July 2015 share repurchase program. In January 2018, Altria completed the July 2015 share repurchase program, under which it purchased a total of 58.7 million shares of its common stock at an average price of $68.15 per share.

Following the completion of the July 2015 share repurchase program, the Board of Directors authorized a new $1.0 billion share repurchase program in January 2018 that it expanded to $2.0 billion in May 2018 (as expanded, the “January 2018 share repurchase program”). During 2018, Altria repurchased 27.6 million shares of its common stock (at an aggregate cost of approximately $1,655 million and at an average price of $59.89 per share) under the January 2018 share repurchase program. At December 31, 2018, Altria had approximately $345 million remaining in the January 2018 share repurchase program. The timing of share repurchases under this program depends upon marketplace conditions and other factors, and the program remains subject to the discretion of the Board of Directors.

For the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, Altria’s total share repurchase activity was as follows:



	2018		2017		2016
	(in millions, except per share data)
Total number of shares repurchased	27.9		41.6		16.2
Aggregate cost of shares repurchased	$	1,673	$	2,917	$	1,030
Average price per share of shares repurchased	$	60.00	$	70.10	$	63.48