filings.toolsItem 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
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Item 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
Our common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “WST.” The following table shows the high and low prices for our common stock as reported by the NYSE, for the periods indicated.
| First Quarter | Second Quarter | Third Quarter | Fourth Quarter | Year | ||||||
| High | Low | High | Low | High | Low | High | Low | High | Low | |
| 2015 | 60.30 | 48.66 | 60.00 | 52.73 | 61.73 | 53.10 | 64.59 | 52.79 | 64.59 | 48.66 |
| 2014 | 51.12 | 41.41 | 45.73 | 40.93 | 45.43 | 39.11 | 55.29 | 43.49 | 55.29 | 39.11 |
As of January 31, 2016, we had 861 shareholders of record, which excludes shareholders whose shares were held by brokerage firms, depositaries and other institutional firms in “street names” for their customers.
Dividends
Our common stock paid a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share in each of the first three quarters of 2014; $0.11 per share in the fourth quarter of 2014 and each of the first three quarters of 2015; and $0.12 per share in the fourth quarter of 2015.
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
The following table shows information with respect to purchases of our common stock made during the three months ended December 31, 2015 by us or any of our “affiliated purchasers” as defined in Rule 10b-18(a)(3) under the Exchange Act:
| Period | Total number of shares purchased (1) | Average price paid per share | Total number of shares purchased as part of publicly announced plans or programs (2) | Maximum number of shares that may yet be purchased under the plans or programs (2) | |||||||||
| October 1 – 31, 2015 | 20 | $ | 53.34 | — | — | ||||||||
| November 1 – 30, 2015 | 220 | 61.55 | — | — | |||||||||
| December 1 – 31, 2015 | 70 | 61.41 | — | — | |||||||||
| Total | 310 | $ | 60.99 | — | — |
| (1) | Includes 310 shares purchased on behalf of employees enrolled in the Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation Plan for Designated Employees (Amended and Restated Effective January 1, 2008). Under the plan, Company match contributions are delivered to the plan’s investment administrator, who then purchases shares in the open market and credits the shares to individual plan accounts. |
| (2) | In December 2015, we announced a share repurchase program authorizing the repurchase of up to 700,000 shares of the Company’s common stock from time to time on the open market or in privately- negotiated transactions as permitted under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 Rule 10b-18. The number of shares to be repurchased and the timing of such transactions will depend on a variety of factors, including market conditions. The program commenced on January 1, 2016 and is expected to be completed by December 31, 2016. The Company's previously-authorized share repurchase program expired on December 31, 2015. |
Performance Graph
The following performance graph compares the cumulative total return to holders of our common stock with the cumulative total return of the following Standard & Poor's ("S&P") indices, for the five years ended December 31, 2015: MidCap 400 Index, 400 Health Care Equipment & Supplies Industry, SmallCap 600 Index and 600 Health Care Equipment & Supplies Industry. Due to the appreciation in the Company's share value, the S&P added the Company to its midcap indices in 2015, and removed the Company from their smallcap indices, which were shown in the prior-year Form 10-K.
Cumulative total return to shareholders is measured by dividing total dividends (assuming dividend reinvestment) plus the per-share price change for the period by the share price at the beginning of the period. The Company's cumulative shareholder return is based on an investment of $100 on December 31, 2010 and is compared to the cumulative total return of the S&P indices mentioned above over the period with a like amount invested.
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