pre_text: republic services , inc . notes to consolidated financial statements 2014 ( continued ) 12 . share repurchases and dividends share repurchases share repurchase activity during the years ended december 31 , 2018 and 2017 follows ( in millions except per share amounts ) : .
post_text: as of december 31 , 2018 , there were no repurchased shares pending settlement . in october 2017 , our board of directors added $ 2.0 billion to the existing share repurchase authorization that now extends through december 31 , 2020 . 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 , 2018 , the remaining authorized purchase capacity under our october 2017 repurchase program was $ 1.1 billion . dividends in october 2018 , our board of directors approved a quarterly dividend of $ 0.375 per share . cash dividends declared were $ 468.4 million , $ 446.3 million and $ 423.8 million for the years ended december 31 , 2018 , 2017 and 2016 , respectively . as of december 31 , 2018 , we recorded a quarterly dividend payable of $ 121.0 million to shareholders of record at the close of business on january 2 , 2019 . 13 . earnings per share basic earnings per share is computed by dividing net income attributable to republic services , inc . by the weighted average number of common shares ( including vested but unissued rsus ) outstanding during the period . diluted earnings per share is based on the combined weighted average number of common shares and common share equivalents outstanding , which include , where appropriate , the assumed exercise of employee stock options , unvested rsus and unvested psus at the expected attainment levels . we use the treasury stock method in computing diluted earnings per share. .
table: 2018 2017
table: Number of shares repurchased 10.7 9.6
table: Amount paid $736.9 $610.7
table: Weighted average cost per share $69.06 $63.84
question: Analyse this data from a financial earnings document. between 2018 and 2017 what was the percent change in the weighted average cost per share