Item 5. Market for Registrant's Common Equity,
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Item 5. Market for Registrant's Common Equity,
Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Market Information
Cintas' common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol "CTAS." The following table provides the high and low sales prices of shares of Cintas' common stock by quarter during the last two fiscal years:
| Fiscal 2016 | |||||||
| Quarter Ended | High | Low | |||||
| May 2016 | $ | 95.49 | $ | 84.32 | |||
| February 2016 | 93.64 | 80.00 | |||||
| November 2015 | 94.35 | 82.71 | |||||
| August 2015 | 89.74 | 78.00 | |||||
| Fiscal 2015 | |||||||
| Quarter Ended | High | Low | |||||
| May 2015 | $ | 88.23 | $ | 79.51 | |||
| February 2015 | 84.18 | 70.61 | |||||
| November 2014 | 73.95 | 65.79 | |||||
| August 2014 | 66.50 | 61.70 |
Holders
At May 31, 2016, there were approximately 2,000 shareholders on record of Cintas' common stock. Cintas believes that this represents approximately 50,000 beneficial owners.
Dividends
Dividends on Cintas' outstanding common stock have been paid annually and amounted to $1.05 per share, $1.70 per share and $0.77 per share in fiscal 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively. The fiscal 2015 dividend was comprised of an annual cash dividend of $0.85 per share, and an additional $0.85 per share special dividend related to the cash proceeds received from the Shred-it Transaction.
Stock Performance Graph
The following graph summarizes the cumulative return on $100 invested in Cintas' common stock, the S&P 500 Stock Index and the common stocks of a selected peer group of companies. Because our products and services are diverse, Cintas does not believe that any single published industry index is appropriate for comparing shareholder return. Therefore, the peer group used in the performance graph combines four publicly traded companies in the business services industry that have similar characteristics as Cintas, such as route based delivery of products and services. The companies included in the Peer Group are G & K Services, Inc., UniFirst Corporation, ABM Industries, Inc., and Iron Mountain, Inc.
Total shareholder return was based on the increase in the price of the common stock and assumed reinvestment of all dividends. Further, total return was weighted according to market capitalization of each company. The companies in the Peer Group are not the same as those considered by the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors.
Total Shareholder Returns
Comparison of Five-Year Cumulative Total Return

Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchases
| Period (In millions, except share and per share data) | Total number of shares purchased | Average price paid per share | Total number of shares purchased as part of the publicly announced plan (1) | Maximum approximate dollar value of shares that may yet be purchased under the plan (1) | |||||||||
| March 1 - 31, 2016 (2) | 141,271 | $ | 87.88 | 135,000 | $ | 268.2 | |||||||
| April 1 - 30, 2016 (3) | 966,066 | 89.13 | 965,451 | 182.1 | |||||||||
| May 1 - 31, 2016 (4) | 1,973,131 | 90.83 | 1,964,771 | 3.7 | |||||||||
| Total | 3,080,468 | $ | 90.16 | 3,065,222 | $ | 3.7 |
(1) On August 4, 2015, Cintas announced that the Board of Directors authorized a new $500.0 million share buyback program, which does not have an expiration date. From the inception of the August 4, 2015 share buyback program through May 31, 2016, Cintas has purchased a total of 5.6 million shares of Cintas common stock at an average price of $87.85 per share for a total purchase price of $496.3 million.
(2) During March 2016, Cintas acquired 6,271 shares of Cintas common stock in satisfaction of employee payroll taxes due on restricted stock awards that vested during the fiscal year. These shares were purchased at an average price of $90.21 per share for a total purchase price of $0.6 million.
(3) During April 2016, Cintas acquired 615 shares of Cintas common stock in satisfaction of employee payroll taxes due on restricted stock awards that vested during the fiscal year. These shares were purchased at an average price of $89.83 per share for a total purchase price of less than $0.1 million.
(4) During May 2016, Cintas acquired 8,360 shares of Cintas common stock in satisfaction of employee payroll taxes due on restricted stock awards that vested during the fiscal year. These shares were purchased at an average price of $94.80 per share for a total purchase price of $0.8 million.
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