STOCK REPURCHASES

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Equity [Abstract]

STOCK REPURCHASE

STOCK REPURCHASES

On March 31, 2017 the Company announced that its Board of Directors had authorized the repurchase up to 5% of the Company's common stock, or 1,658,245 of the Company's outstanding shares. Under the authorization, shares were repurchased by the Company in open market purchases. During the year ended December 31, 2017, the Company repurchased 545,166 common shares at an average price of $56.91 per share. In addition to the shares repurchased under the authorization, there were 29,579 shares surrendered during 2017 by employees to satisfy tax withholding obligations upon vesting of restricted stock grants.

On March 28, 2018 the Company announced that its Board of Directors had authorized the repurchase up to 5% of the Company's common stock, or 1,621,549 of the Company's outstanding shares. Under the authorization, shares could be repurchased by the Company in open market purchases. During the year ended December 31, 2018, the Company repurchased 594,711 common shares at an average price of $57.82 per share. Of the total shares repurchased, 269,711 shares were repurchased prior to March 28, 2018 and were therefore accounted for under the 2017 authorization. The remaining 325,000 shares were repurchased subsequent to March 28, 2018 and are accounted for under the 2018 authorization. In addition to the shares repurchased under the authorization, there were 27,653 shares surrendered during 2018 by employees to satisfy tax withholding obligations upon vesting of restricted stock grants.

On March 27, 2019, the Company announced that its Board of Directors had authorized the repurchase up to 5% of the Company's common stock, or 1,757,637 of the Company's outstanding shares. Under the authorization, shares may be repurchased by the Company in open market purchases. The extent to which the Company repurchases its shares and the timing of such repurchases will depend upon market conditions and other corporate considerations. During the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company repurchased 1,000,000 common shares at an average price of $53.90 per share. All repurchases of shares in 2019 occurred subsequent to March 27, 2019 and are accounted for under the 2019 authorization leaving 757,637 shares available for future repurchase. In addition to the shares repurchased under the 2019 authorization, there were 33,777 shares surrendered during 2019 by employees to satisfy tax withholding obligations upon vesting of restricted stock.