24/7 Wall St. » GBL

America’s 10 Highest Paid CEOs (Which Are Worth It?)

Charles B. Stockdale — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 11:22:17 +0000

Several lists of the highest paid CEOs in America are published each year mostly by the business media and shareholder groups. All are based on proxy statements. Long before the lists are published, the boards of directors of these companies try to justify the compensation packages for shareholders. Investors often are skeptical of these defenses, and they should be. It is rare, but not impossible, to show that a chief executive deserves $50 million, or even $100 million a year.

Read America’s 10 Highest Paid CEOs

Based on the annual CEO Pay Survey 2011 by GMI, 24/7 Wall St. identified the 10 highest paid CEOs. We then analyzed company performance of the highest paid CEOs to determine which pay packages were worth the investment.

Such a review about management compensation is by its nature subjective and different from a board’s reasoning. A board may take into account the long-term record of a CEO who has held his or her job for several years. The board might set a pay package based on an extraordinary year. The directors also may pay a CEO well just before he or she retires. 24/7 Wall St. has downplayed each of these factors, but has not eliminated them. Our judgment of “fairness” is based on what shareholders received in the year as the CEO’s compensation year. Our primary measurements are revenue growth, earnings growth and stock price change.

This is the 24/7 Wall St. list of the 10 highest paid CEOs for 2010 and an analysis of whether their compensations were worth the payments in terms of shareholder returns. All compensation considerations used to set pay, which include board of director criteria from each company, come from SEC-filed proxies.

Filed under: General, Special Report Tagged: AET, CVS, GBL, GGP, MCK, OCR, RL, TRW, VNO, VRSK

Ten Highest Paid CEOs of 2010 (MCK, OCR, TRW, VRSK, CVS, GGP, RL, VNO, AET, GBL)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 17:07:59 +0000

When it comes to executive pay, the amounts paid to today’s highest paid CEOs equals the GDP of a small emerging nation. The ten most highly compensated CEOs according to a recent survey by GMI took home about $770 million, more than the GDP of Vanuatu or Samoa, among others.

The GMI survey measures what the firm calls “total realized compensation,” which is further defined as “compensation that has been received by the CEO, rather than any notional estimates, accounting costs, or other uncertainties.” Here’s the list:

CEO	Company	Ticker	Compensation
John Hammergren	McKesson Corp.	MCK	$145,266,971
Joel Gemunder	Omnicare, Inc.	OCR	$98,283,242
John Plant	TRW Automotive Holdings Corp.	TRW	$76,841,646
Frank Coyne	Verisk Analytics, Inc.	VRSK	$69,416,726
Thomas Ryan	CVS Caremark Corp.	CVS	$68,079,823
Adam Metz	General Growth Properties, Inc.	GGP	$66,707,460
Ralph Lauren	Polo Ralph Lauren Corp.	RL	$66,651,515
Michael Fascitelli	Vornado Realty Trust	VNO	$64,402,468
Ronald Williams	Aetna, Inc.	AET	$57,787,786
Mario Gabelli	GAMCO Investors Inc.	GBL	$56,608,736

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Compensation Tagged: AET, CVS, GBL, GGP, MCK, OCR, RL, TRW, VNO, VRSK

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ALKS, AEO, ADM, BHP, CSCO, DOW, GBL, ITW, JNY, MRK, PHG, DGX, RGS, RIO, SKS, TSN, VIA-B)

Administrator — Tue, 10 May 2011 12:30:59 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls this Tuesday morning.

Alkermes, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALKS) Raised to Outperform at Leerink Swann.
American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE: AEO) Cut to Neutral at Janney.
Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.
BHP Billiton Ltd. (NYSE: BHP) Started as Buy at RBS.
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) Started as Buy at boutique firm BGC Financial.
The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW) Maintained Strong Buy as Value at Zacks.
GAMCO Investors, Inc. (NYSE: GBL) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
Illinois Tool Works (NYSE: ITW) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
The Jones Group Inc. (NYSE: JNY) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.
Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) Reiterated Buy and $41 target at Argus.
Philips Electronics NV (NYSE: PHG) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Quest Diagnostics, Inc. (NYSE: DGX) reiterated Outperform but on Focus List at Credit Suisse.
Regis Corporation (NYSE: RGS) Kept at Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Rio Tinto plc (NYSE: RIO) Started as Buy at RBS.
Saks Incorporated (NYSE: SKS) Raised to Neutral from Sell at Goldman Sachs.
Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.
Viacom, Inc. (NYSE: VIA-B) Raised to Buy at Argus.

You can join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, dividend trends, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: ADM, AEO, ALKS, BHP, CSCO, DGX, DOW, GBL, ITW, JNY, MRK, PHG, RGS, RIO, SKS, TSN, VIA-B

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (AKAM, MT, COP, DYN, EP, GBL, LLNW, MON, PVH, RAX, SLW, CODE, UNH, UNP, WLP)

Administrator — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 13:19:52 +0000

These are some of this Monday’s key analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen in Wall Street research calls.

Akamai Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
ArcelorMittal (NYSE: MT) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) Reiterated Buy and $72 target at Argus.
Dynegy Inc. (NYSE: DYN) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
El Paso Corp. (NYSE: EP) Started as Positive at Susquehanna.
GAMCO Investors, Inc. (NYSE: GBL) Raised to Neutral at BofA/ML.
Limelight Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: LLNW) Cut to Underperform at Oppenheimer.
Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
Phillips-Van Heusen Corp. (NYSE: PVH) Raised to Buy at Citi.
Rackspace Hosting, Inc. (NYSE: RAX) Cut to Equal-weight at Morgan Stanley.
Silver Wheaton Corp. (NYSE: SLW) Maintained Buy but Target Raised to $35 at UBS.
Spansion Inc. (NASDAQ: CODE) Started as Buy and $28 target at Gleacher & Co.
UnitedHealth Group, Inc. (NYSE: UNH) Cut to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP) Raised to Outperform at Baird.
WellPoint, Inc. (NYSE: WLP) Cut To Hold From Buy By Stifel Nicolaus

You can join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about dividend trends, analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AKAM, CODE, COP, DYN, EP, GBL, LLNW, MON, MT, PVH, RAX, SLW, UNH, UNP, WLP

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ANF, BIDU, BSX, DF, ENER, GBL, NVDA, PALM, MMM, RHT)

247wallst — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 13:23:05 +0000

These are the top ten analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations we have seen from Wall Street research calls:

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) Raised to Outperform Oppenheimer.
Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) Raised to Neutral at HSBC, whoops!; target raised to $550 by Citigroup.
Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
Dean Foods (NYSE: DF) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
Energy Conversion Devices (NASDAQ: ENER) Raised to Hold at Jefferies.
GAMCO Investors (NYSE: GBL) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) Raised to Buy at Roth Capital.
Palm Inc, (NASDAQ: PALM) Raised to Hold from Sell at Citigroup.
3M Co. (NYSE: MMM) Raised to Outperform at Bernstein.
Red Hat Inc. (NYSE: RHT) Started as Outperform at William Blair.

You are invited to join our free daily email distribution list to hear about top analyst upgrades and downgrades, IPOs and secondary offerings, ongoing day trader and options trader alerts, stock and market rumors, Buffett and guru investor news, M&A and more.

JON C. OGG
FEBRUARY 11, 2010

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: ANF, BIDU, BSX, DF, ENER, GBL, MMM, NVDA, PALM, RHT

Cablevision Value Watch: Madison Square Garden Spin-Off (CVC, MSGNV, MSG, GBL)

247wallst — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 23:13:32 +0000

Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC) has approved the spin off of Madison Square Garden to Cablevision shareholders. Madison Square Garden is the home venue of the New York Knicks and Rangers, but is also home to concerts, boxing events, tennis, and other events. You have to be a holder of Cablevision to receive the shares, at least that is the case before the regular trading takes place. Cablevision said tonight that the share distribution will take place on February 9, 2010, and that distribution will be made to Cablevision’s shareholders of record as of the close of business on January 25, 2010 (i.e. settlement date on or before).

Terms of the spin-off will be 1 share of the new Madison Square Garden Class A stock for each four shares held of Cablevision Class A shares held as of the record date. The company is keeping the same Class A and Class B share structure, and the Class B ratio is the same as for Class A. Class B shares are not exchange-traded, and the control of MSG will remain under the Dolan family control via the Class B shares.

The company noted that fractional shares of MSG common stock will not be distributed to Cablevision stockholders, and those holders who would have received fractional shares will see those shares aggregated and sold in the public market. After that, the proceeds will be distributed pro rata in cash to the holders who would have otherwise received a fractional share. The company also noted that this has been designated as a tax-free spin-off and no action is required by holders to see this come to pass.

Cablevision Class A common stock will continue to trade “regular way” on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “CVC” before and after the spin-off. Those holders of Cablevision Class A common stock who sell Cablevision shares regular way on or before February 9, 2010, will also be selling their right to receive shares of MSG Class A common stock. Cablevision’s Class B common stock is not listed on a securities exchange. MSG Class A common stock will begin trading on a “when-issued” basis as “MSGNV” on NASDAQ on January 25, 2010; on February 10, 2010, the stock begins trading under the symbol “MSG.”

The business of Madison Square Garden consists of MSG Sports, MSG Entertainment and MSG Media. This might not be as good as going back in time and getting holders to agree to that $36.36 go-private management buyout from the Dolans, but it will have to do for now that the private equity bubble has burst. It will be interesting to see if Mario Gabelli of GAMCO Investors, Inc. (NYSE: GBL) will be as vocal on this spin-off as he was against the Dolan-led buyout offer back during the private equity bubble.

JON C. OGG

Posted in Accounting, Activist Investor, Cable Companies, Dividend, Entertainment, IPOs, Media, Mergers and Buy Outs, Private Equity, Value Investing Tagged: CVC, GBL, MSG, MSGNV

GAMCO, Gabelli, Files To Raise Cash (GBL)

247wallst — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 18:06:31 +0000

It was not that long ago that GAMCO INVESTORS INC. saw its credit rating hurt by an S&P downgrade, sort of. S&P put the parent of Gabelli Funds credit rating outlook at Negative. And today, we just got an SEC Filing showing that GAMCO was filing to sell up to $400 million in securities.

When S&P cut the rating, it cited lower assets under management and therefore a reduction in revenue with weakened its cash flow and interest coverage. S&P Noted that if GAMCO cannot improve its cash-flow margins and interest coverage, it could lower the ratings. Simultaneously, it did affirmed its ‘BBB/A-2′ counterparty credit rating.

This is a mixed securities shelf for Debt Securities, Preferred Stock, Common Stock, Stock Purchase Contracts, and Stock Purchase Units. The filing noted that these securities registered may be sold separately, together, or as units.

The filing noted the use of proceeds “will be used for general corporate purposes. These purposes may include, but are not limited to, working capital, including the expansion of our business through new investment product offerings, enhanced distribution and marketing of existing investment products and strategic acquisitions as opportunities arise.”

No underwriters were mentioned, nor were any terms and conditions.

Gabelli’s shares are down close to 2% today at $43.99 and its 52-week trading range is $21.66 to $68.52. For a comparison, the stock’s market cap is now $1.22 billion. Interestingly enough, its most recent balance sheet seen (March 31) showed some $393.8 million in cash and an additional $243.8 million in long-term investments. Those liabilities were broken down as a total of $254.68 million, and of that total some $204.1 million was listed as long-term debt.

The short interest is a bit high considering the size, and this is important considering the value of the stock. It was listed as 566,085 shares, which compares to 57,337 average daily volume and is a day-to-cover ratio of 9.87 days. There have been some who have been puzzled by the premium values over at GAMCO compared to other investment manager firms.

This new filing may be to address some of the S&P issues brought up. If not, we can’t figure out what the firm needs the funds for. Not unless Mario Gabelli and friends are looking at an acquisition.

Jon C. Ogg
July 27, 2009

Posted in Activist Investor, Mutual Funds, Secondary Offering Tagged: GBL

Bill Gates & Cascade New Stock Holdings (AN, BRK-A, CNI, KOF, FSCI, FMX, GBL, TV, OTTR, PCX, LGBT, PNM, RSG, SIX, BEE)

247wallst — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 16:35:35 +0000

These are the new holdings (sans ETF and sans derivatives) for Bill Gates’ CASDADE INVESTMENT LLC As of September 30, 2008:

AUTONATION (NYSE: AN) 5,263,588
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY (NYSE: BRK-A) 4,050
CANADIAN NATL RY (NYSE: CNI) 33,859,544
COCA COLA FEMSA S A B (NYSE: KOF) 857,128
FISHER COMMUNICATIONS (NASDAQ: FSCI) 455,700
FOMENTO ECONOMICO (NYSE: FMX) 20,966,795
GAMCO INVESTORS (NYSE: GBL) 90,845
GRUPO TELEVISA SA (NYSE: TV) 19,680,400
OTTER TAIL (NASDAQ: OTTR) 2,556,499
PATRIOT COAL (NYSE: PCX) 2,408,653
PLANETOUT (NASDAQ: LGBT) 521,739
PNM RESOURCES (NYSE: PNM) 7,019,550
REPUBLIC SERVICES (NYSE: RSG) 34,873,836
SIX FLAGS (NYSE: SIX) 10,210,600
STRATEGIC HOTELS & RESORT (NYSE: BEE) 4,190,000

You can join our open email distribution list to hear about holdings of Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, IPO’s, secondary offerings, private placements, merger, special situations, rumors, and more.

Jon C. Ogg
November 14, 2008

Posted in Activist Investor, Insider Activity Tagged: AN, BEE, BRK-A, CNI, FMX, FSCI, GBL, KOF, LGBT, OTTR, PCX, PNM, RSG, SIX, TV

Gabelli Enters SPAC IPO Game (GBL, VZ)

247wallst — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 08:01:07 +0000

Last night there was a filing from Gabelli Entertainment & Telecommunications Acquisition Corp. to come public via an initial public offering for a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) or a blank-check company. This is for a sale of $200 million in units with each unit consisting of 1 share of common stock and one warrant with a $7.50 strike price. This has ties to GAMCO Investors Inc. (NYSE: GBL) and even to Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) via an ex-CFO.

Gabelli Entertainment & Telecommunications Acquisition Corp. is anewly organized blank check company formed toacquire or merge withone or more operating businesses or assets in the media, entertainment,telecommunications or financial services industries.

Underwriter Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. has been given a 45-dayover-allotment option to purchase up to 3,000,000 additional units.The listing is set to occur on the American Stock Exchange, yet noticker has been designated.

As you likely guessed by the name, Mario Gabelli is the Chairman, and the CEOis listed as Frederic Salerno. For those of you who do not knowSalerno by name, he was CFO and Vice Chairman of Verizon (NYSE: VZ)until he retired in 2002. Mario Gabelli is of course the founder ofGAMCO Investors, Inc. (NYSE: GBL).

What is interesting about this one is that certain corporate officershave also formed another SPAC which is meant to come public at the same time.

Jon C. Ogg
August 5, 2008

Goldman Sachs Lowers Financial Estimates (AB, ABLk, BLK, CLMS, CME, BEN, GBL, IVZ, JNS, NITE, LAB, LM, MKTX, NYX, TROW, PZN, NDAQ, TRAD)

247wallst — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 09:22:38 +0000

Goldman Sachs has lowered estimates on many financial services players this morning:

AllianceBernstein (AB) (buy);
AMBAC Financial (ABK) (neutral);
Blackrock (BLK) (buy);
Calamos Asset Mgmt. (CLMS) (neutral);
CME Group (CME) (buy);
Franklin Resources (BEN) (neutral);
Gamco Investors (GBL) (sell);
INVESCO plc (IVZ) (neutral);
Janus Capital (JNS) (neutral);
Knight Trading (NITE) (buy);
Labranche (LAB) (sell);
Legg Mason (LM) (neutral);
Marketaccess Holdings (MKTX) (neutral);
NYSE Euronext (NYX) (neutral);
T. Rowe Price (TROW) (neutral);
Pzena Investment Mgmt. (PZN) (neutral);
The NASDAQ Stock Market (NDAQ) (neutral);
TradeStation (TRAD) (neutral)

Jon C. Ogg
January 10, 2008