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7. Stockholders' Equity
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2020
Stockholders' Equity Note [Abstract]  
Stockholders' Equity Note Disclosure [Text Block]
7.    STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

Bio-Rad’s issued and outstanding stock consists of Class A Common Stock (Class A) and Class B Common Stock (Class B).  Each share of Class A and Class B participates equally in the earnings of Bio-Rad, and is identical in all respects except as follows. Class A has limited voting rights.  Each share of Class A is entitled to one tenth of a vote on most matters, and each share of Class B is entitled to one vote.  Additionally, Class A stockholders are entitled to elect 25% of the directors, with Class B stockholders electing the remaining directors. Cash dividends may be paid on Class A shares without paying a cash dividend on Class B shares but no cash dividend may be paid on Class B shares unless at least an equal cash dividend is paid on Class A shares.  Class B shares are convertible at any time into Class A shares on a one-for-one basis at the option of the stockholder.  The founders of Bio-Rad, the Schwartz family, collectively hold a majority of Bio-Rad’s voting stock.  As a result, the Schwartz family is able to exercise significant influence over Bio-Rad.

Changes to Bio-Rad's issued common stock shares are as follows (in thousands):
Class A SharesClass B Shares
Balance at January 1, 201824,679 5,108 
Class B to Class A conversions30 (30)
Issuance of common stock175 18 
Balance at December 31, 201824,884 5,096 
Class B to Class A conversions24 (24)
Issuance of common stock58 18 
Balance at December 31, 201924,966 5,090 
Class B to Class A conversions32 (32)
Issuance of common stock75 18 
Balance at December 31, 202025,073 5,076 

Treasury Shares

In November 2017, the Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase program, granting Bio-Rad authority to repurchase, on a discretionary basis, up to $250.0 million of outstanding shares of our common stock. In July 2020, the Board of Directors authorized increasing the Share Repurchase Program to allow the Company to repurchase up to an additional $200.0 million of stock. Repurchases may be made at management's discretion from time to time on the open market or through privately negotiated transactions. The share repurchase activity under the share repurchase program through open market transactions for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018 are summarized as follows:
Number of Shares PurchasedWeighted-Average Price per ShareTotal Shares Repurchased To DateRemaining Authorized Value
(in millions)
November 1, 2018 - November 30, 2018178,911 $273.39 193,150 $201.1 
May 1, 2019 - May 31, 201925,421 $291.70 218,571 $193.7 
June 1, 2019 - June 30, 201925,977 $292.01 244,548 $186.1 
August 1, 2019 - August 31, 201914,745 $339.05 259,293 $181.1 
November 1, 2019 - November 30, 201922,343 $358.04 281,636 $173.1 
March 1, 2020 - March 31, 2020291,941 $342.55 573,577 $73.1 

For the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, we used 117,423 and 118,910, respectively, of the repurchased shares in connection with the vesting of restricted stock units and in 2019 we used 19,755 shares in connection with ESPP stock purchases. As of December 31, 2020, $273.1 million remained under the Share Repurchase Program.