CHFC 2017 Annual Report

PART II. 30 Item 5. Market for Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities. Our common stock is traded on The NASDAQ Stock Market ® under the symbol CHFC. As of December 31, 2017, there were approximately 71.2 million shares of our common stock issued and outstanding, held by approximately 4,797 shareholders of record. The table below sets forth the range of high and low sales prices for transactions reported on The NASDAQ Stock Market ® for our common stock for the periods indicated. 2017 2016 High Low High Low First quarter $ 54.98 $ 47.52 $ 36.45 $ 29.40 Second quarter 51.52 44.22 40.14 34.29 Third quarter 53.17 43.61 47.62 35.73 Fourth quarter 58.17 50.39 55.55 40.93 The earnings of Chemical Bank are the principal source of funds to pay cash dividends to our shareholders. Accordingly, cash dividends are dependent upon the earnings, capital needs, regulatory constraints, and other factors affecting Chemical Bank. See Note 20 to our Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of this Annual Report for a discussion of such limitations. We have paid regular cash dividends every quarter since we began operation as a bank holding company in 1973. Based on our financial condition at December 31, 2017, management expects to continue to pay quarterly cash dividends on our common shares in 2018. However, there can be no assurance as to future dividends because they are dependent on our future earnings, capital requirements and financial condition, and may require regulatory approval. On January 23, 2018, we declared a first quarter 2018 cash dividend of $0.28 per share, payable on March 16, 2018. The following table summarizes the quarterly cash dividends paid to shareholders over the past five years. Years Ended December 31, 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 First quarter $ 0.27 $ 0.26 $ 0.24 $ 0.23 $ 0.21 Second quarter 0.27 0.26 0.24 0.23 0.21 Third quarter 0.28 0.27 0.26 0.24 0.22 Fourth quarter 0.28 0.27 0.26 0.24 0.23 Total $ 1.10 $ 1.06 $ 1.00 $ 0.94 $ 0.87