Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
The Company’s common stock is quoted on The Nasdaq Global Select Market® under the symbol “CASS.” As of February 15, 2024, there were approximately 5,717 holders of record of the Company’s common stock.
The Company has continuously paid regularly scheduled cash dividends since 1934 and expects to continue to pay quarterly cash dividends in the future. However, future dividend payments will depend on the Company’s earnings, capital requirements, financial condition, applicable banking regulatory requirements and other factors considered relevant by the Company’s Board of Directors.
The Company maintains a treasury stock buyback program approved by the Board of Directors in October 2023 pursuant to which, the Board of Directors has authorized the repurchase of up to 500,000 shares of the Company’s common stock and has no expiration date. The Company has repurchased 13,964 shares under this treasury stock buyback program and therefore has 486,036 shares remaining for repurchase.
The Company repurchased a total of 150,541 shares at an aggregate cost of $5.8 million during the year ended December 31, 2023 and 130,374 shares at an aggregate cost of $5.3 million during the year ended December 31, 2022. A portion of the repurchased shares may be used for the Company’s employee benefit plans and the balance will be available for other general corporate purposes. The pace of repurchase activity will depend on factors such as levels of regulatory capital, cash generation from operations, cash requirements for investments, repayment of debt, current stock price, business and market conditions, and other factors. The Company may repurchase shares from time to time on the open market or in private transactions, including structured transactions. The stock repurchase program may be modified or discontinued at any time.
During the three months ended December 31, 2023, the Company repurchased shares of its common stock as follows:
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
October 1, 2023 –
October 31, 2023 1,650 $ 37.68 1,650 498,350
November 1, 2023 –
November 30, 2023 13,295 40.28 11,714 486,636
December 1, 2023 –
December 31, 2023 600 41.83 600 486,036
Total 15,545 $ 40.06 13,964 486,036
(1) During the quarter ended December 31, 2023, there were 13,964 shares repurchased pursuant to the Company's publicly announced treasury stock buyback program and 1,581 shares transferred from employees in satisfaction of tax withholding obligations upon the vesting of restricted stock.
(2) The Board of Directors authorized the treasury stock buyback program on October 17, 2023, announced by the Company on October 19, 2023. The program provides that the Company may repurchase up to an aggregate of 500,000 shares of common stock and has no expiration date.
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Performance Quoted on The Nasdaq Stock Market for the Last Five Fiscal Years
The following graph compares the cumulative total returns over the last five fiscal years of a hypothetical investment of $100 in shares of common stock of the Company with a hypothetical investment of $100 in The Nasdaq Stock Market (“Nasdaq”), the index of Nasdaq computer and data processing stocks, and the index of Nasdaq bank stocks. The graph assumes $100 was invested on December 31, 2018, with dividends reinvested. Returns are based on period end prices.
ITEM 6. RESERVED