Dell faithful: Buy, don't sell.
Dell Chairman Sells 6.25 Million Shares, Raises $308.9 Million
quote.bloomberg.com
By Loren Steffy
Round Rock, Texas, July 11 (Bloomberg) -- Dell Computer Corp. Chairman and founder Michael Dell sold 6.25 million shares of the No. 1 direct-seller of personal computers last month, raising $308.9 million.
Michael Dell sold the shares June 19 to June 30 at prices ranging from $48.86 to $50 a share, according to documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Shares of the Round Rock, Texas-based company rose 1 7/8 to 51 5/8 in midmorning trading. The stock is little changed this year.
Investors often watch insider sales for clues on executives' sentiments about a company's prospects. Though large, Michael Dell's sales fit a pattern. He sold a total of 11.4 million shares this year through May, raising $628.7 million.
After last month's sales, he still owned 298.9 million shares of the company he founded in his college dorm room in 1984, according to the SEC filing. That's about 12 percent of the company's 2.58 billion outstanding shares. Dell's wife and several family trusts control an additional 46 million shares.
Dell Computer officers and directors were the second most- active in terms of insider selling last year behind those at Microsoft Corp. 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.
Last year, Dell insiders as a whole sold more than $2.09 billion in stock, compared with $4.26 billion for Microsoft insiders, according to the Washington Service, which tracks insider buying and selling.
Other Dell Insiders
Other Dell insiders also sold shares last month. Former Vice Chairman Morton Topfer sold 1 million shares on June 6 and 7 at prices ranging from $45 to $45.13 a share. He exercised options to buy 1 million shares at $1.11 each. The transactions resulted in a profit of $43.9 million.
Vice Chairman Kevin Rollins sold 150,000 shares at $47 each on June 15, after exercising options to buy the same number of shares at 88 cents. On June 22, he sold 200,000 shares for prices ranging from $50 to $50.06 a share, after exercising options to buy the same number of shares at 88 cents. The transactions generated a total profit of $16.7 million, according to SEC filings.
Dell Senior Vice President Thomas Green exercised options to buy 179,200 shares at 54 cents each on June 15, and sold them the same day at $47.19, for a profit of $8.36 million.
Vice President Charles Saunders exercised options to buy 49,800 shares at $9.26 apiece on June 19, and sold them the same day for $49.50 each, generating a profit of $2 million.
Dell Director Thomas Luce exercised options to buy 38,400 shares at $9.26 apiece on June 27 and sold them the same day at $49.38 each, for a profit of $1.54 million, according to the filings.
Michael Dell's Stock Sales in 2000:
Date No. of Shares Price Profit
(000s) ($) (000s $) 3/22 2,000 58.7297 $117,459 3/22 1,300 58.0733 75,495 3/23 700 56.9481 39,864 3/27 350 58.2143 20,375 3/28 650 57.2332 37,202 3/28 1,250 57 71,250 3/29 750 54.1958 40,647 3/29 750 54.2917 40,719 3/30 250 53.225 13,306 3/31 1,500* 54.5375 81,806 4/3 500 54.4952 27,248 5/25 1,400 45.25 63,350 6/19 1,400 49.5078 69,311 6/20 1,200 48.855 58,626 6/20 600 49.7344 29,841 6/21 800 49.1953 39,356 6/22 750 49.7375 37,303 6/27 1,000 50 50,000 6/30 500 49 24,500 Total 17,650 937,657
*Shares sold by a family trust
Source: Company Form 4 filings with the SEC. |
