shares acquired. The Company held 16,224,655 and 15,044,997 shares of common stock in treasury as of March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively.
Share Repurchase Program
In 2011, the board of directors approved an initial authorization for the Company to repurchase shares of its outstanding common stock of $100 million and approved additional authorizations of $100 million in each of 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016, $150 million in February 2018, $100 million in August 2018, and $250 million in October 2019 for a total authorization of $1.1 billion. The Company expects to fund repurchases primarily through the use of existing cash balances. The program permits the Company to purchase shares, through a variety of methods, including in the open market or through privately negotiated transactions, in accordance with applicable securities laws. It does not obligate the Company to make any repurchases at any specific time or situation.
The table below shows the repurchased shares of common stock under the Company’s share repurchase program during the periods presented as follows:
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Three Months Ended March 31,
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2020
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2019
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Number of shares of common stock repurchased
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|
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1,062,881
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|
|
366,793
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Average price paid per share
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$
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112.46
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$
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95.36
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Total purchase price (in millions)
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$
|
119.5
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$
|
35.0
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Since inception of the program through March 31, 2020, the Company has repurchased 14,778,890 shares of common stock at an average cost per share of $62.27, totaling $920.3 million.
As of March 31, 2020 and 2019, the Company had $179.7 million and $171.1 million of availability remaining under its existing share repurchase authorizations, respectively.
Purchase of Common Stock from Employees
The Company purchased 116,777 and 118,563 shares that were not part of the publicly announced share repurchase authorization from employees for an average price paid per share of $119.53 and $94.59 during the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. These shares consisted of shares retained to cover payroll withholding taxes or option costs in connection with the vesting of RSAs, RSUs, PSUs, and stock option exercises.
Preferred Stock
The Company has authorized the issuance of 20,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.01 per share, issuable from time to time in one or more series. As of March 31, 2020, and December 31 2019, the Company had no shares of preferred stock issued or outstanding.
Dividends
During the three months ended March 31, 2020, the Company declared and paid cash dividends per share of $0.36 for an aggregate payout of $40.0 million. During the three months ended March 31, 2019, the Company declared and paid cash dividends per share of $0.31 for an aggregate payout of $34.8 million.
Each share of common stock, including RSAs, RSUs, and PSUs, is entitled to receive dividend and dividend equivalents, respectively, if, as and when declared by the board of directors of the Company. The Company’s expectation is to continue to pay dividends. The decision to pay a dividend, however, remains within the discretion of the Company’s board of directors and may be affected by various factors, including our earnings, financial condition, capital requirements, level of indebtedness and other considerations our board of directors deems relevant. Future debt obligations and statutory provisions, among other things, may limit, or in some cases prohibit, our ability to pay dividends.