Task: Table-QA (source dataset: FinQA)

Task: 
You are given a table containing structured data and a natural language question referring to the table. Your goal is to analyze the table and provide an accurate and concise answer based on the given data.

Instructions:
1. Understand the Table: Examine the structure, headers, and data in the table. Identify relevant columns and rows related to the question.
2. Interpret the Question: Determine whether the question requires direct retrieval, aggregation, comparison, sorting, filtering, or inference.
3. Extract the Answer: Use logical reasoning and numerical operations (if necessary) to derive the correct response from the table.
4. Format the Answer: No explanation, return the answer in a structured JSON format: {"answer": <answer>}. If the question cannot be answered due to missing or ambiguous data, return a JSON response with {"answer": null}.

Table:
| Unnamed: 0                      | 2016    | 2015    |
|:--------------------------------|:--------|:--------|
| number of shares repurchased    | 8.4     | 9.8     |
| amount paid                     | $ 403.8 | $ 404.7 |
| weighted average cost per share | $ 48.56 | $ 41.39 |

Question:
what was the percent of the change in the weighted average cost per share from 2015 to 2016


pre_text: republic services , inc .
notes to consolidated financial statements 2014 ( continued ) employee stock purchase plan republic employees are eligible to participate in an employee stock purchase plan .
the plan allows participants to purchase our common stock for 95% ( 95 % ) of its quoted market price on the last day of each calendar quarter .
for the years ended december 31 , 2016 , 2015 and 2014 , issuances under this plan totaled 130085 shares , 141055 shares and 139941 shares , respectively .
as of december 31 , 2016 , shares reserved for issuance to employees under this plan totaled 0.5 million and republic held employee contributions of approximately $ 1.5 million for the purchase of common stock .
12 .
stock repurchases and dividends stock repurchases stock repurchase activity during the years ended december 31 , 2016 and 2015 follows ( in millions except per share amounts ) : .
post_text: as of december 31 , 2016 , there were no repurchased shares pending settlement .
in october 2015 , our board of directors added $ 900.0 million to the existing share repurchase authorization , which now extends through december 31 , 2017 .
share repurchases under the program may be made through open market purchases or privately negotiated transactions in accordance with applicable federal securities laws .
while the board of directors has approved the program , the timing of any purchases , the prices and the number of shares of common stock to be purchased will be determined by our management , at its discretion , and will depend upon market conditions and other factors .
the share repurchase program may be extended , suspended or discontinued at any time .
as of december 31 , 2016 , the october 2015 repurchase program had remaining authorized purchase capacity of $ 451.7 million .
in december 2015 , our board of directors changed the status of 71272964 treasury shares to authorized and unissued .
in doing so , the number of our issued shares was reduced by the stated amount .
our accounting policy is to deduct the par value from common stock and to reflect the excess of cost over par value as a deduction from additional paid-in capital .
the change in unissued shares resulted in a reduction of $ 2295.3 million in treasury stock , $ 0.6 million in common stock , and $ 2294.7 million in additional paid-in capital .
there was no effect on our total stockholders 2019 equity position as a result of the change .
dividends in october 2016 , our board of directors approved a quarterly dividend of $ 0.32 per share .
cash dividends declared were $ 423.8 million , $ 404.3 million and $ 383.6 million for the years ended december 31 , 2016 , 2015 and 2014 , respectively .
as of december 31 , 2016 , we recorded a quarterly dividend payable of $ 108.6 million to shareholders of record at the close of business on january 3 , 2017. .
label: 0.17323000000000002
qa: answer: 17.32%
explanation: the weighted average cost per share increased by 17.32 % from 2015 to 2016
ann_table_rows: 3
steps: op: minus1-1
arg1: 48.56
arg2: 41.39
res: 7.17
op: divide1-2
arg1: #0
arg2: 41.39
res: 17.32%
program: subtract(48.56, 41.39), divide(#0, 41.39)
gold_inds: table_3: the weighted average cost per share of 2016 is $ 48.56 ; the weighted average cost per share of 2015 is $ 41.39 ;
exe_ans: 0.17323000000000002
tfidftopn: text_17: there was no effect on our total stockholders 2019 equity position as a result of the change .
text_18: dividends in october 2016 , our board of directors approved a quarterly dividend of $ 0.32 per share .
program_re: divide(subtract(48.56, 41.39), 41.39)
model_input: text_6
stock repurchases and dividends stock repurchases stock repurchase activity during the years ended december 31 , 2016 and 2015 follows ( in millions except per share amounts ) : .
table_3
the weighted average cost per share of 2016 is $ 48.56 ; the weighted average cost per share of 2015 is $ 41.39 ;
text_19
cash dividends declared were $ 423.8 million , $ 404.3 million and $ 383.6 million for the years ended december 31 , 2016 , 2015 and 2014 , respectively .