Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

v3.21.2
STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2021
STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY  
STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

NOTE 12.STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

During the nine months ended September 30, 2021, the Company paid $119.7 million, or $0.24 per share, in cash dividends compared to $91.7 million, or $0.19 per share, during the same period in 2020.

During the third quarter ended September 30, 2021 and during the same period in 2020, the Company did not repurchase shares on the open market.

The Company repurchases shares from employees for the payment of their taxes on restricted shares that have vested. The Company repurchased $0.3 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2021, and $10.6 million and $8.1 million during the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021 and 2020 respectively. The Company did not repurchase shares for the payment of taxes on vested shares during the quarter ended September 30, 2020.

As more fully discussed in Note 17 of the Company’s notes to the consolidated financial statements in its 2020 Annual Report on Form 10-K, time-lapse restricted awards and restricted stock units (“restricted shares”) have been issued to officers and other management employees under the Company’s Employee Stock Incentive Plans. The Company issues new shares from its authorized but unissued share pool. As of September 30, 2021, approximately 6.6 million shares of the Company’s common stock were reserved for issuance.

Time Lapse Restricted Shares

The following table summarizes the components of the Company’s stock-based compensation programs recorded as expense:

Three Months Ended

Nine Months Ended

September 30, 

September 30, 

(in thousands)

    

2021

    

2020

    

2021

    

2020

Time lapse restricted stock:

 

  

 

  

  

 

  

Pre-tax compensation expense

$

3,920

$

10,511

$

11,762

$

18,151

Tax benefit

 

(1,025)

 

(1,180)

 

(2,950)

 

(3,117)

Restricted stock expense, net of tax

$

2,895

$

9,331

$

8,812

$

15,034

According to the Employee Stock Incentive Plan, restricted shares automatically vest upon the death of an employee holding the unvested shares. The pre-tax compensation expense was higher for the quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2020 due to the accelerated vesting of unvested restricted shares held by the Company’s Chairman of the Board, R. Randall Rollins, who passed away in August, 2020.

The following table summarizes information on unvested restricted stock outstanding as of September 30, 2021:

    

    

Weighted

Average

Number of

Grant-Date

(number of shares in thousands)

    

Shares

    

Fair Value

Unvested Restricted Stock at December 31, 2020

 

2,870

 

$

20.36

Forfeited

 

(56)

 

24.80

Vested

 

(851)

 

16.62

Granted

 

778

 

37.04

Unvested Restricted Stock at September 30, 2021

 

2,741

$

26.16

As of September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, the Company had $56.4 million and $40.5 million of total unrecognized compensation cost, respectively, related to time-lapse restricted shares that are expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of approximately 4.1 years and 3.8 years, respectively.