Steve,
did you see this:
Dell chairman sells 9.5 million shares
By Bloomberg News
April 11, 2000, 2:15 p.m. PT
URL: news.cnet.com
ROUND ROCK, Texas--Dell Computer chairman and founder Michael Dell last month sold 9.5 million shares of the No. 1 direct seller of personal computers as the stock reached a record. The sale raised $538.1 million.
Michael Dell sold the shares from March 22 to March 31, for prices ranging from $53.23 a share to $58.73, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
His biggest sales came on March 22, when he sold 3.3 million shares. That day, Dell Computer's stock closed at a record 58.13. The sales included 1.5 million shares sold by a trust Michael Dell controls. Eight other Dell officers and directors sold a total of $67.6 million of the PC maker's shares in March.
Investors often watch insider sales for clues on executives' sentiment about a company's prospects. Though large, Michael Dell's sales fit a pattern and constitute about 1 percent of his holdings. The latest sales are his first in 2000.
Michael Dell founded the company while a college student in 1984. He controls about 14 percent of the 2.57 billion shares outstanding, for a stake valued at about $20 billion at today's price. The shares have gained about 26 percent in the past year.
Dell Computer insiders were the second-most active in terms of insider selling last year behind Microsoft.
Michael Dell sold more than $1.5 billion of the company's shares, second to Microsoft chairman Bill Gates, according to Vickers Weekly Insider Report.
As a whole last year, Dell insiders sold $2.09 billion of shares, compared with $4.26 billion for Microsoft insiders, according to the Washington Service, which tracks insider buying and selling.
On March 10, Dell vice chairman Kevin Rollins sold 285,000 shares for a profit of $15.1 million after exercising options to buy the shares for 88 cents each, according to SEC filings. Rollins sold at prices from $53.63 to $53.88.
Former vice chairman Morton Topfer sold 400,000 shares on March 9 for $49.88 and $50 each after exercising options to buy the stock for $1.11 a share. Topfer's latest sales generated a profit of about $19.5 million.
On March 10, chief financial officer James Schneider sold 100,000 shares at $53.50 apiece for a profit of $5.1 million, after exercising options to buy them for about $2.48 each. |
