Common Stock and Related Matters

12 Months Ended

Aug. 31, 2019

Common Stock

Changes in common stock for the years ended August 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017 were as follows (amounts and shares in millions):



	Common Stock
	Shares		Amount
			(At par)
Balance at August 31, 2016	53.4		$	0.5
Issuance of restricted stock grants, net of cancellations	0.1		—
Stock options exercised	—	*	—
Balance at August 31, 2017	53.5		$	0.5
Issuance of restricted stock grants, net of cancellations	0.2		—
Stock options exercised	—	*	—
Balance at August 31, 2018	53.7		$	0.5
Issuance of restricted stock grants, net of cancellations	0.1		—
Balance at August 31, 2019	53.8		$	0.5

___________________________

* Represents shares of less than 0.1 million.

As of August 31, 2019 and 2018, we had 14.3 million and 13.7 million of repurchased shares recorded as treasury stock at an original repurchase cost of $1.2 billion and $1.1 billion, respectively.

In March 2018, the Board of Directors (the “Board”) authorized the repurchase of up to six million shares of common stock. As of August 31, 2019, 1.45 million shares had been purchased under this authorization, of which 0.7 million were repurchased in fiscal 2019.

Preferred Stock

We have 50 million shares of preferred stock authorized. No shares of preferred stock were issued in fiscal 2019 or 2018, and no shares of preferred stock are outstanding.

Earnings per Share

Basic earnings per share for the periods presented is computed by dividing net earnings available to common stockholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for these periods. Diluted earnings per share is computed similarly but reflects the potential dilution that would occur if dilutive options were exercised, all unvested share-based payment awards were vested, and other distributions related to deferred stock agreements were incurred.

The following table calculates basic earnings per common share and diluted earnings per common share for the years ended August 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017 (in millions, except per share data):



	Year Ended August 31,
	2019		2018		2017
Net income	$	330.4	$	349.6	$	321.7
Basic weighted average shares outstanding	39.7		40.9		43.1
Common stock equivalents	0.1		0.1		0.2
Diluted weighted average shares outstanding	39.8		41.0		43.3
Basic earnings per share	$	8.32	$	8.54	$	7.46
Diluted earnings per share	$	8.29	$	8.52	$	7.43

Stock options of approximately 300,000, 179,000, and 117,000 were excluded from the diluted earnings per share calculation for the years ended August 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively, as the effect of inclusion would have been antidilutive. Restricted stock shares of approximately 160,000, 227,000, and 99,000 were excluded from the diluted earnings per share calculation for the years ended August 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively, as the effect of inclusion would have been antidilutive.