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

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Our Class B Common Stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol UHS. Shares of our Class A, Class C and Class D Common Stock are not traded in any public market, but are each convertible into shares of our Class B Common Stock on a share-for-share basis.

The number of stockholders of record as of January 31, 2021, were as follows:

Stock Repurchase Programs

In July, 2019, our Board of Directors authorized a $1.0 billion increase to our stock repurchase program, which increased the aggregate authorization to $2.7 billion from the previous $1.7 billion authorization approved in various increments since 2014. Pursuant to this program, which had an aggregate available repurchase authorization of $559.6 million as of December 31, 2020, shares of our Class B Common Stock may be repurchased, from time to time as conditions allow, on the open market or in negotiated private transactions. There is no expiration date for our stock repurchase programs.

In April, 2020, as part of various COVID-19 initiatives, we suspended our stock repurchase program. We are planning to resume stock repurchases, subject to approval by our Board of Directors, during the second quarter of 2021.

As reflected below, during the three-month period ended December 31, 2020, no shares were repurchased pursuant to the terms of our stock repurchase program, since as mentioned above, we have suspended our stock repurchase program as part of our various COVID-19 initiatives. During the three –month period ended December 31, 2020, 49,525 shares were repurchased in connection with income tax withholding obligations resulting from the exercise of stock options and the vesting of restricted stock grants.

During the period of October 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020, we repurchased the following shares:

Dividends

We have a history of paying quarterly cash dividends to our shareholders. In April, 2020, as part of various COVID-19 initiatives, we suspended declaration and payment of quarterly dividends. Our Board of Directors have recently approved resumption of quarterly dividend payments, of $0.20 per share, beginning in the first quarter of 2021.

Our Credit Agreement contains covenants that include limitations on, among other things, dividends and stock repurchases (see below in Capital Resources-Credit Facilities and Outstanding Debt Securities).

Equity Compensation

Refer to Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters, of this report for information regarding securities authorized for issuance under our equity compensation plans.

Stock Price Performance Graph

The following graph compares the cumulative total stockholder return on our common stock with the cumulative total return on the stock included in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index and a Peer Group Index during the five year period ended December 31, 2020. The graph assumes an investment of $100 made in our common stock and each Index as of January 1, 2016 and has been weighted based on market capitalization. Note that our common stock price performance shown below should not be viewed as being indicative of future performance.

Companies in the peer group, which consist of companies in the S&P 500 Index or S&P MidCap 400 Index are as follows: Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc., Community Health Systems, Inc., HCA Healthcare, Inc., LifePoint Health, Inc. (included until November, 2018, when it was acquired by Apollo Management) and Tenet Healthcare Corporation.