related to property and equipment) due to timing of payments and a $0.7 million decrease in accounts receivable due to decreased customer shipments. These sources of cash were partially offset by a $2.3 million decrease in prepaid expenses and other assets, a $7.0 million increase in inventories due to lower demand during the quarter and a $0.7 million decrease in taxes payable and accrued liabilities.
Cash From Investing Activities
Our investing activities in the three months ended March 31, 2024 resulted in a $0.1 million net use of cash, primarily consisting of $4.3 million used for purchases of property and equipment, (primarily production-related machinery and equipment) partially offset by $4.3 million from sales and maturities of marketable securities, net of purchases.
Our investing activities in the three months ended March 31, 2023 resulted in $18.3 million net use of cash, primarily consisting of $14.2 million used for purchases of marketable securities net of proceeds from maturities, and $4.1 million used for purchases of property and equipment (primarily production-related machinery and equipment).
Cash From Financing Activities
Our financing activities in the three months ended March 31, 2024 resulted in a $23.3 million net use of cash, consisting of $14.6 million for the repurchase of our common stock and $11.4 million for the payment of dividends to stockholders, partially offset by proceeds of $2.7 million from the issuance of shares through our employee stock purchase plan.
Our financing activities in the three months ended March 31, 2023 resulted in a $9.5 million net use of cash, consisting of $1.7 million for the repurchase of our common stock and $10.9 million for the payment of dividends to stockholders, partially offset by proceeds of $3.1 million from the issuance of shares through our employee stock purchase plan.
Dividends
In February 2023, our board of directors declared dividends of $0.19 per share to be paid to stockholders of record at the end of each quarter in 2023. In October 2023, our board of directors raised the quarterly cash dividend with the declaration of five cash dividends of $0.20 per share to be paid to stockholders of record at the end of the fourth quarter in 2023 (in lieu of the $0.19 per share announced in February 2023) and at the end of each quarter in 2024.
A dividend payout of $11.4 million occurred on March 28, 2024. The declaration of any future cash dividend is at the discretion of the board of directors and will depend on our financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements, business conditions and other factors, as well as a determination that cash dividends are in the best interests of our stockholders.
Stock Repurchases
As of December 31, 2023, we had $26.0 million remaining under our stock-repurchase program. In the three months ended March 31, 2024, we repurchased approximately 207,000 shares of our common stock for $14.6 million, leaving $11.3 million remaining on the repurchase authorization as of March 31, 2024. Authorization of future repurchase programs is at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on our financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements, business conditions and other factors; the program has no expiration date.
Contractual Commitments
As of March 31, 2024 we had a contractual obligation related to income tax, which consisted primarily of unrecognized tax benefits of approximately $16.4 million and interest associated with those benefits of approximately $0.3 million. A portion of the tax obligation is classified as long-term income taxes payable and a portion is recorded in deferred tax assets in our condensed consolidated balance sheet.
As of March 31, 2024, there were no material changes in our contractual commitments from those reported in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023.
Other Information
Our cash, cash equivalents and investment balances may change in future periods due to changes in our planned cash outlays, including changes in incremental costs such as direct and integration costs related to future acquisitions.