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 traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (“Nasdaq”) under the symbol “WEN.”
The Company’s common stock is entitled to one vote per share on all matters on which stockholders are entitled to vote. The Company has no class of equity securities currently issued and outstanding except for its common stock. However, the Company is currently authorized to issue up to 100 million shares of preferred stock.
The Company paid quarterly cash dividends of $0.12, $0.05, $0.05 and $0.07 per share of common stock during the first, second, third and fourth quarters of 2020, respectively. The Company paid quarterly cash dividends of $0.09, $0.10, $0.12 and $0.12 per share of common stock during the first, second, third and fourth quarters of 2021, respectively.
During the first quarter of 2022, the Company declared a dividend of $0.125 per share of common stock to be paid on March 15, 2022 to stockholders of record as of March 7, 2022. Although the Company currently intends to continue to declare and pay quarterly cash dividends, there can be no assurance that any additional quarterly cash dividends will be declared or paid or as to the amount or timing of such dividends, if any. Future dividend payments, if any, will be made at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will be based on such factors as the Company’s earnings, financial condition and cash requirements and other factors.
As of February 22, 2022, there were approximately 21,119 holders of record of the Company’s common stock.
The following table provides information with respect to repurchases of shares of our common stock by us and our “affiliated purchasers” (as defined in Rule 10b-18(a)(3) under the Exchange Act) during the fourth fiscal quarter of 2021:
Issuer Repurchases of Equity Securities
Period Total Number of Shares Purchased (1) Average Price Paid per Share Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plan Approximate Dollar Value of Shares that May Yet Be Purchased Under the Plan (2)
October 4, 2021
through
November 7, 2021 701,581 $ 22.23 697,485 $ 125,071,941
November 8, 2021
through
December 5, 2021 (3) 4,913,130 $ 21.64 4,913,130 $ 18,750,022
December 6, 2021
through
January 2, 2022 1,386 $ 22.16 — $ 18,750,022
Total 5,616,097 $ 21.71 5,610,615 $ 18,750,022
(1) Includes 5,482 shares of common stock reacquired by the Company from holders of share-based awards to satisfy certain requirements associated with the vesting or exercise of the respective award. The shares were valued at the fair market value of the Company’s common stock on the vesting or exercise date of such awards, as set forth in the applicable plan document.
(2) In February 2020, our Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to $100.0 million of our common stock through February 28, 2021, when and if market conditions warranted and to the extent legally permissible. In July 2020, our Board of Directors approved an extension of the February 2020 authorization by one year, through February 28, 2022. In May 2021, August 2021, and November 2021, our Board of Directors approved increases of $50.0 million, $70.0 million and $80.0 million, respectively, to the February 2020 authorization, resulting in an aggregate authorization of $300.0 million that expired on February 28, 2022.
(3) In November 2021, the Company entered into an accelerated share repurchase agreement (the “2021 ASR Agreement”) with a third-party financial institution to repurchase common stock as part of the Company’s existing share repurchase program. Under the 2021 ASR Agreement, the Company paid the financial institution an initial
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purchase price of $125.0 million in cash and received an initial delivery of 4.9 million shares of common stock, representing an estimated 85% of the total shares expected to be delivered under the 2021 ASR Agreement.
In February 2022, the Company completed the 2021 ASR Agreement and received an additional 0.7 million shares of common stock. The total number of shares of common stock ultimately purchased by the Company under the 2021 ASR Agreement was based on the average of the daily volume-weighted average prices of the common stock during the term of the 2021 ASR Agreement, less an agreed upon discount. In total, 5.6 million shares were delivered under the 2021 ASR Agreement at an average purchase price of $22.22 per share. With the completion of the 2021 ASR Agreement, the Company completed its $300.0 million February 2020 authorization.
In February 2022, our Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to $100.0 million of our common stock through February 28, 2023, when and if market conditions warrant and to the extent legally permissible.
Item 6. [Reserved]