part ii item 5 . market for registrant 2019s common equity , related stockholder matters and issuer purchases of equity securities market information our common stock is listed and traded on the new york stock exchange under the symbol 201cipg 201d . as of february 13 , 2019 , there were approximately 10000 registered holders of our outstanding common stock . on february 13 , 2019 , we announced that our board of directors ( the 201cboard 201d ) had declared a common stock cash dividend of $ 0.235 per share , payable on march 15 , 2019 to holders of record as of the close of business on march 1 , 2019 . although it is the board 2019s current intention to declare and pay future dividends , there can be no assurance that such additional dividends will in fact be declared and paid . any and the amount of any such declaration is at the discretion of the board and will depend upon factors such as our earnings , financial position and cash requirements . equity compensation plans see item 12 for information about our equity compensation plans . transfer agent and registrar for common stock the transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is : computershare shareowner services llc 480 washington boulevard 29th floor jersey city , new jersey 07310 telephone : ( 877 ) 363-6398 sales of unregistered securities not applicable . repurchases of equity securities the following table provides information regarding our purchases of our equity securities during the period from october 1 , 2018 to december 31 , 2018 . total number of shares ( or units ) purchased 1 average price paid per share ( or unit ) 2 total number of shares ( or units ) purchased as part of publicly announced plans or programs 3 maximum number ( or approximate dollar value ) of shares ( or units ) that may yet be purchased under the plans or programs 3 .
what was the potential cash payment for the cash dividend announced that our board of directors in 2019
1 the total number of shares of our common stock , par value $ 0.10 per share , repurchased were withheld under the terms of grants under employee stock- based compensation plans to offset tax withholding obligations that occurred upon vesting and release of restricted shares ( the 201cwithheld shares 201d ) . 2 the average price per share for each of the months in the fiscal quarter and for the three-month period was calculated by dividing the sum in the applicable period of the aggregate value of the tax withholding obligations by the sum of the number of withheld shares . 3 in february 2017 , the board authorized a share repurchase program to repurchase from time to time up to $ 300.0 million , excluding fees , of our common stock ( the 201c2017 share repurchase program 201d ) . in february 2018 , the board authorized a share repurchase program to repurchase from time to time up to $ 300.0 million , excluding fees , of our common stock , which was in addition to any amounts remaining under the 2017 share repurchase program . on july 2 , 2018 , in connection with the announcement of the acxiom acquisition , we announced that share repurchases will be suspended for a period of time in order to reduce the increased debt levels incurred in conjunction with the acquisition , and no shares were repurchased pursuant to the share repurchase programs in the periods reflected . there are no expiration dates associated with the share repurchase programs. .