Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Equity

v3.8.0.1
Equity
12 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2017
Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Abstract]  
Equity
Equity
Stock compensation
At September 30, 2017, 1.5 million shares remained available for grants under our 2017 Equity Incentive Plan. We typically issue new shares in satisfying our obligations under our stock plans.
We grant equity awards to officers, employees and directors in the form of restricted stock units (RSUs). RSUs issued generally vest ratably over one or five years. The fair value of the RSUs, based on our stock price at the grant date, is expensed in equal installments over the vesting period. For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2017, 2016 and 2015, compensation expense recognized related to RSUs was $21.4 million, $18.8 million and $17.2 million, respectively. All individuals who are granted RSUs also receive dividend-equivalent payments in the form of additional RSUs. However, until the shares are issued, they have no voting rights and may not be bought or sold. In the event that an award is forfeited, the dividend-equivalent payments received by the holder with respect to that award are also forfeited.
A summary of our RSU activity for the year ended September 30, 2017, is as follows:
 
Shares
 
Weighted-Average
Grant-Date
Fair Value
Non-vested shares outstanding at September 30, 2016
809,306

 
$
47.64

Granted
448,289

 
53.63

Vested
(400,583
)
 
46.17

Forfeited
(34,185
)
 
46.00

Non-vested shares outstanding at September 30, 2017
822,827

 
51.69


In addition to the non-vested shares, certain directors and employees held approximately 0.7 million vested awards whose issuance has been deferred as of September 30, 2017.
The weighted-average grant-date fair value of RSUs granted in the years ended September 30, 2016 and 2015 was $52.00 and $50.82, respectively. The total fair value of RSUs which vested during the years ended September 30, 2017, 2016 and 2015 was $24.9 million, $27.1 million and $68.6 million, respectively. As of September 30, 2017, the total remaining unrecognized compensation cost related to unvested RSUs was $37.6 million. This expense is expected to be realized over the next five years, with a weighted average life of 1.5 years.
Prior to fiscal year 2008, we granted stock options to certain employees. These were granted at exercise prices equal to the fair market value of our common stock at the date of grant, vested over a period of four years and expired ten years after the date of the grant. No compensation expenses related to stock options were recorded in any of the years shown. In fiscal year 2017, our remaining 80,000 stock options were exercised for a weighted average strike price of $11.55. We have no outstanding stock options at September 30, 2017.
The following table summarizes information pertaining to the stock options vested and exercised for the years presented (in thousands):
 
Year ended September 30,
 
2017
 
2016
 
2015
Aggregate intrinsic value of all stock options exercised
$
4,025

 
$
4,077

 
$
5,536

Net cash proceeds from exercise of stock options
924

 
546

 
868


The total income tax benefit recognized in the consolidated statement of operations for share-based compensation arrangements was $15.0 million, $7.4 million and $7.1 million for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively. Our tax benefit in fiscal year 2017 was affected by the adoption of a new accounting standard, as detailed in "Note 1. Business and summary of significant accounting policies."
Employees are permitted to forfeit a certain number of shares to cover their personal tax liability, with the Company making tax payments to the relevant authorities. These payments are reported in the consolidated statements of cash flows as financing cash flows. During the three years ending September 30, 2017, 2016 and 2015, we incurred liabilities related to these forfeitures of $8.7 million, $9.3 million and $11.7 million, respectively.
Stock repurchase programs
Under a resolution adopted in August 2015, the Board of Directors authorized the repurchase, at management's discretion, of up to an aggregate of $200 million of our common stock. This resolution superseded similar authorizations from November 2011 and June 2014. The resolution also authorizes the use of option exercise proceeds for the repurchase of our common stock. During the years ended September 30, 2017, 2016 and 2015, we repurchased 0.6 million, 0.6 million and 1.6 million common shares at a cost of $28.9 million, $31.3 million and $82.8 million, respectively. At September 30, 2017, $109.9 million remained available for future stock repurchases.