H-P's top holders stick with shares
By Mike Tarsala, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 8:54 PM ET Feb. 15, 2002
PALO ALTO, Calif. (CBS.MW) - Hewlett-Packard's top five shareholders either kept or added to their stakes in H-P in the fourth quarter, suggesting H-P's management has support at the top for its planned $22 billion merger with Compaq Computer.
Meanwhile, Putnam Investment Management, the No. 6 holder, increased its H-P shares by 19.5 percent in the December period to take a 2.1 percent stake of the printer-and-computer-maker, up from only 1.7 percent in the September quarter, according to filings.
The six top H-P shareholders control nearly 16 percent of the company - almost as much as the 18 percent controlled by the Hewlett and Packard family members who oppose the deal.
"The institutions that still own the stock think the deal will go through, and that it makes sense," said Bill DeRosa, fund manager with Badgley Phelps and Bell Inc. in Seattle, with $1.5 billion under advisement. "What was once a 70-30 chance of getting it done is now a 50-50 chance."
DeRosa, who has voiced opposition to the deal and does not currently own H-P shares, says he agrees with statements by CEO Carly Fiorina that H-P is turning the tide in its merger battle with dissident board member Walter Hewlett.
Capital Research and Management Co., H-P's largest owner, kept its position in the company about the same in the fourth quarter. At the end of December, the investment company held nearly 67 million shares of H-P, worth about $1.38 billion. Capital held a 3.45 percent stake of the company, roughly in line with the 3.54 percent it had at the end of September.
Barclay's Bank Plc., the No. 2 H-P shareholder, added less than a percent to its H-P holdings in the fourth quarter, according to filings. Its percent stake in H-P, based on the 60.2 million shares it owns remained unchanged at about 3.1 percent.
Banc of America held about 53.4 million shares of H-P at the end of the fourth quarter worth about $1.1 billion. The bank dropped its weighting in H-P by 2.9 percent in the period, but its total stake in the company barely budged - 2.75 percent vs. 2.83 percent in the previous quarter.
State Street Corp. raised its H-P holdings to 46.7 million shares, up 3.2 percent from the third quarter. The investment management firm owned 2.4 percent of H-P at the end of the fourth quarter, up from 2.33 percent at the end of the third period.
State Farm kept his holdings nearly unchanged at 41.5 million shares, which were worth about $853 million at the end of the fourth quarter. It 's holdings represent about 2.1 percent of H-P's totals stock.
Among smaller institutional holders, Alliance Capital, the only management company to publicly back the merger, increased the H-P stock it owns by 112 percent. Also, Dodge & Cox, The New York State Common Retirement fund, and Vanguard Group added 29, 15, and 7 percent to their H-P positions, respectively.
Shares of H-P (HWP: news, chart, profile) lost 52 cents to close at $20.36 in Friday trading on the Big Board.
Mike Tarsala is a San Francisco-based reporter for CBS.MarketWatch.com. |
