Item 5. MARKET FOR THE REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Principal Market

The Company’s common stock trades on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the same symbol, “MNST”. As of February 20, 2020, there were 536,896,142 shares of the Company’s common stock outstanding held by approximately 193 holders of record. The holders of record do not include those stockholders whose shares are held of record by banks, brokers and other financial institutions.

Stock Price and Dividend Information

We have not paid cash dividends to our stockholders since our inception and do not anticipate paying cash dividends in the foreseeable future.

On August 7, 2018, the Company’s Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase program for the purchase of up to $500.0 million of the Company’s outstanding common stock (the “August 2018 Repurchase Plan”). During the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company purchased 2.9 million shares of common stock at an average purchase price of $54.68 per share, for a total amount of $159.6 million (excluding broker commissions), which exhausted the availability under the August 2018 Repurchase Plan. Such shares are included in common stock in treasury in the accompanying consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2019.

On February 26, 2019, the Company’s Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase program for the purchase of up to $500.0 million of the Company’s outstanding common stock (the “February 2019 Repurchase Plan”). During the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company purchased 8.1 million shares of common stock at an average purchase price of $57.16 per share, for a total amount of $463.3 million (excluding broker commissions), under the February 2019 Repurchase Plan. Such shares are included in common stock in treasury in the accompanying consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2019. As of February 28, 2020, $36.6 million remained available for repurchase under the February 2019 Repurchase Plan.

On November 6, 2019, the Company’s Board of Directors authorized a new share repurchase program for the purchase of up to $500.0 million of the Company’s outstanding common stock (the “November 2019 Repurchase Plan”). No shares were purchased during the year ended December 31, 2019 under the November 2019 Repurchase Plan. As of February 28, 2020, $500.0 million remained available for repurchase under the November 2019 Repurchase Plan.

During the year ended December 31, 2019, 1.4 million shares of common stock were purchased from employees in lieu of cash payments for options exercised or withholding taxes due for a total amount of $84.5 million. While such purchases are considered common stock repurchases, they are not counted as purchases against our authorized share repurchase programs. Such shares are included in common stock in treasury in the accompanying consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2019.

The following tabular summary reflects the Company’s repurchase activity during the quarter ended December 31, 2019:

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¹Excluding broker commissions paid.

²Net of broker commissions paid.

Performance Graph

The following graph shows a five-year comparison of cumulative total returns:1

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1Annual return assumes reinvestment of dividends. Cumulative total return assumes an initial investment of $100 on December 31, 2014. The Company’s self-selected peer group is comprised of TCCC, Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. (through July 9, 2018), Keurig Dr. Pepper Inc. (after July 10, 2018), National Beverage Corporation, Jones Soda Company and PepsiCo, Inc.

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