CAPITAL STOCK

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2021

CAPITAL STOCK

CAPITAL STOCK

CAPITAL STOCK

We have 199 million authorized shares of common stock. The number of shares of common stock and treasury stock and the share activity were as follows:

	Common Shares			Treasury Shares
	2021	2020	2019	2021	2020	2019
Balance at the beginning of the year	69,516,805	68,608,508	67,341,316	4,528,051	4,836,027	4,424,884
Employee option exercises	634,572	802,046	1,079,841	(290,316)	(307,976)	(367,705)
Director option exercises	47,500	26,551	146,083	—	—	—
Restricted stock vestings	171,935	79,700	41,268	—	—	—
Common stock repurchases	—	—	—	614,974	—	778,848
Balance at the end of the year	70,370,812	69,516,805	68,608,508	4,852,709	4,528,051	4,836,027

The cash dividends paid on the common stock for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019 aggregated $98.5 million, $92.7 million and $90.2 million, respectively.