Equity

Summary of Changes in Equity

A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amounts of equity is presented below:



	Nine Months Ended
	December 27, 2014			December 28, 2013
	(millions)
Balance at beginning of period	$	4,034		$	3,785
Comprehensive income	442			633
Dividends declared	(118		)	(113		)
Repurchases of common stock, including shares surrendered for tax withholdings	(382		)	(408		)
Stock-based compensation	60			74
Shares issued and tax benefits recognized pursuant to stock-based compensation arrangements	53			78
Conversion of stock-based compensation awards	(14		)	(15		)
Balance at end of period	$	4,075		$	4,034

Class B Common Stock Conversion

During the nine months ended December 27, 2014, the Lauren Family, L.L.C., a limited liability company managed by the children of Mr. Ralph Lauren, converted 1.0 million shares of Class B common stock into an equal number of shares of Class A common stock pursuant to the terms of the security, which were subsequently sold on the open market as part of a pre-determined, systematic trading plan. These transactions resulted in a reclassification within equity and had no effect on the Company's consolidated balance sheets.

Common Stock Repurchase Program

A summary of the Company's repurchases of Class A common stock under its common stock repurchase program is presented below:



	Nine Months Ended
	December 27, 2014		December 28, 2013
	(millions)
Cost of shares repurchased	$	350	$	398	^(a)
Number of shares repurchased	2.1		2.2		^(a)

^(a)

Includes two separate $50 million prepayments made in March 2013 and June 2013 pursuant to share repurchase programs with third-party financial institutions, in exchange for the right to receive shares of the Company's Class A common stock at the conclusion of each of the 93-day repurchase terms, which resulted in a delivery of 0.6 million shares during the nine months ended December 28, 2013, based on the volume-weighted average market price of the Company's Class A common stock over the programs' respective 93-day repurchase terms, less a discount.

As of December 27, 2014, the remaining availability under the Company's Class A common stock repurchase program was approximately $230 million. Repurchases of shares of Class A common stock are subject to overall business and market conditions.

In addition, during the nine-month periods ended December 27, 2014 and December 28, 2013, 0.2 million and 0.4 million shares of Class A common stock at a cost of $32 million and $60 million, respectively, were surrendered to, or withheld by, the Company in satisfaction of withholding taxes in connection with the vesting of awards under the Company's 1997 Long-Term Stock Incentive Plan, as amended (the "1997 Incentive Plan"), and its Amended and Restated 2010 Long-Term Stock Incentive Plan (the "2010 Incentive Plan").

Repurchased and surrendered shares are accounted for as treasury stock at cost and held in treasury for future use.

Dividends

Since 2003, the Company has maintained a regular quarterly cash dividend program on its common stock. On November 5, 2013, the Company's Board of Directors approved an increase to the Company's quarterly cash dividend on its common stock from $0.40 per share to $0.45 per share. The third quarter Fiscal 2015 dividend of $0.45 per share was declared on December 11, 2014, was payable to stockholders of record at the close of business on December 26, 2014, and was paid on January 9, 2015. Dividends paid amounted to $119 million and $109 million during the nine-month periods ended December 27, 2014 and December 28, 2013, respectively.

On February 3, 2015, the Company's Board of Directors approved an additional increase to the Company's quarterly cash dividend on its common stock from $0.45 per share to $0.50 per share.

Conversion of Stock-based Compensation Awards

During the first quarter of Fiscal 2015, the Company converted certain fully-vested and expensed stock-based compensation awards to a cash contribution into a deferred compensation account. The Company recorded the excess of these awards' then current redemption value over their original grant-date fair value to retained earnings, with a corresponding increase to other non-current liabilities in the consolidated balance sheet.