12.	SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY:

Preferred Stock

The Company’s Articles of Incorporation authorize it to issue up to 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock with designations, rights and preferences determined from time-to-time by the Company’s Board of Directors. Accordingly, the Company’s Board of Directors is empowered, without shareholder approval, to issue preferred stock with dividend, liquidation, conversion, voting or other rights superior to those of shareholders of the Company’s common stock.

In 1995, the Company issued 200,000 shares of Series A Nonconvertible Preferred Stock (Series A) to American Biomimetics Corporation (ABC) pursuant to a certain Technology Transfer Agreement between the Company and ABC. The Series A shares have a liquidation value of $7.50 per share. Series A shareholders, as a single class, have the right to elect two members of the Company’s Board of Directors. This right has never been exercised. Holders of the Series A shares are entitled to one vote per share on matters which shareholders are generally entitled to vote. The Series A shareholders are not entitled to any dividends.

As of December 31, 2017, the Company had issued 200,000 shares of preferred stock, all of which were outstanding.

Common Stock

The Company is authorized to issue 100,000,000 shares of $0.01 par value common stock. Each share of the Company’s common stock entitles the holder to one vote on all matters to be voted upon by the shareholders. As of December 31, 2017, the Company had issued 48,476,034 shares of common stock of which 47,118,171 were outstanding.

Scientific Advisory Board and Employee Awards

During the first quarters of 2017 and 2016, the Company granted a total of 5,590 and 27,967 shares, respectively, of fully vested common stock to employees and non-employee members of the Scientific Advisory Board for services performed in 2016 and 2015, respectively. The fair value of the shares issued was $165,000 and $1.1 million respectively, for shares issued to employees and $300,000 for both quarters for shares issued to members of the Scientific Advisory Board, which amounts were accrued at December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively. In connection with the issuance of these grants, 605 and 8,106 shares, with fair values of $55,000 and $410,000, were withheld in satisfaction of employee tax withholding obligations in 2017 and 2016, respectively.

Dividends

During the year ended December 31, 2017, the Company declared and paid cash dividends of $0.12 per common share or $5.7 million, on the Company’s outstanding common stock.

On February 20, 2018, the Company’s Board of Directors declared a dividend of $0.06 per share of common stock. Payment of the dividend will be made on March 30, 2018 to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 15, 2018.