Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters, and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Market Information for Common Stock

Our common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “MTD.”

Holders

At February 1, 2019, there were 49 holders of record of common stock and 24,795,237 shares of common stock outstanding. We estimate we have approximately 90,609 beneficial owners of common stock.

Dividend Policy

Historically, we have not paid dividends on our common stock. However, we will evaluate this policy on a periodic basis taking into account our results of operations, financial condition, capital requirements, including potential acquisitions, our share repurchase program, the taxation of dividends to our shareholders, and other factors deemed relevant by our Board of Directors.

Share Performance Graph

The following graph compares the cumulative total returns (assuming reinvestment of dividends) on $100 invested on December 31, 2013 through December 31, 2018 in our common stock, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Composite Stock Index (S&P 500 Index), and the SIC Code 3826 Index — Laboratory Analytical Instruments.

Comparison of Cumulative Total Return Among Mettler-Toledo International Inc., the S&P 500 Index, and SIC Code 3826 Index — Laboratory Analytical Instruments

Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

In November 2018, the Company's Board of Directors authorized an additional $2.0 billion to the share repurchase program which has $2.1 billion of remaining availability as of December 31, 2018. The share repurchases are expected to be funded from cash generated from operating activities, borrowings, and cash balances. Repurchases will be made through open market transactions, and the amount and timing of purchases will depend on business and market conditions, the stock price, trading restrictions, the level of acquisition activity, and other factors.

We have purchased 27.5 million common shares since the inception of the program in 2004 through December 31, 2018, at a total cost of $4.4 billion. During the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, we spent $475 million and $400 million on the repurchase of 802,809 shares and 749,254 shares at an average price per share of $591.65 and $533.84, respectively. We reissued 183,379 shares and 270,413 shares held in treasury for the exercise of stock options and restricted stock units during 2018 and 2017, respectively.