Stockholders Find Fortunes, Setbacks

(Click here (PDF) for the largest shareholders list. And click here (PDF) for a chart of the top five shareholders.)

The fortunes of some of Northwest Arkansas’ wealthiest residents were all over the map from fall of 2005 to fall 2006. The worth of several household names decreased over the period, while a few business leaders saw the value of their holdings increase significantly.
For the trucking industry, a decline in demand for shipping appeared to have affected the holdings of some freight magnates more than others. E. Wayne Garrison, chairman of J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc., was the company’s top individual shareholder as of Nov. 17, 2006 — an arbitrary date used for all of the holdings on the list, beginning here. Garrison’s 7,335,380 shares were worth $162.8 million on that date, down $4.73 million from the previous year.
Kirk Thompson, CEO and president of J.B. Hunt, saw his net worth increase year over year. Thompson is the trucking firm’s second-largest single shareholder with 530,842 shares, worth $11.8 million, or $2 million more than in 2005.
Robert W. Weaver of P.A.M. Transportation Services Inc. is the company’s top shareholder, with 244,428 shares, worth $6.34 million, up $1.6 million from 2005.
Robert A. Young III, chairman of Arkansas Best, is that company’s top stockholder, with 2,046,701 shares. Young’s holdings were worth $81.2 million, or $2.63 million less than his total holdings of the stock the year prior.
Tilman Falgout III, CEO of America’s Car Mart Inc., was worth about $3.3 million less than he was the previous year. Falgout is the principal shareholder for the company, with 831,940 shares of stock worth $9.8 million as of Nov.17.
The top shareholders for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. were worth about $1.3 billion less in November 2006 than a year earlier. The Sam Walton family owned 1.7 billion total shares of stock in the company.
The top individual shareholder for Wal-Mart is the company’s director, Jack C. Shewmaker, who owns 3.2 million shares worth $153.6 million, down $3.7 million from his holdings in 2005.
Former Wal-Mart CEO David D. Glass owns 1.4 million shares valued at $66.71 million, down $8.14 million from 2005. Current CEO and president H. Lee Scott owns 813,282 shares, worth $38.63 million.
The Don Tyson family’s holdings in Tyson Foods Inc. stock were worth 32 percent less in November 2006 than they were a year before. In a 14-day span this spring, the family sold 6 million shares worth $111 million in company stock.
Don Tyson’s personal sales totaled $24.4 million, with the rest being absorbed by the family’s Tyson LP entity. As of March 16, the family still holds 72.9 million shares.
Dick Bond, president and CEO of Tyson, owns 1.2 million shares worth $18.67 million, $1.9 million less than a year before.
Baldor Electric Co., of Fort Smith benefited from a $1.8 billion acquisition of Reliance Electric Co. from Milwaukee-based Rockwell Automation Inc. Baldor’s stock price rose more than 42 percent from a year earlier. The Roland S. Boreham, Jr. family is the company’s principal stockholder, with 1.3 million shares worth $46 million.
John McFarland, CEO and chairman of Baldor, saw his holdings in the company increase by $2.4 million.
The Marjorie Brooks family is the principal shareholder for stock in Springdale-based Advanced Environmental Recycling Technologies. The family owns a total of 7.9 million shares worth $12.75 million, up $3.8 million from a year prior.
Clete T. Brewer, director for Massachusetts-based Edgewater Technology, owns 372,592 shares of stock in the company, worth $2.4 million, an increase of more than $1 million over last year.
The Larry J. Brandt Family fared well over the year. The family owns the most stock in First Federal Bancshares of Arkansas, with 429,092 shares, for total holdings of almost $10 million, up $2.11 million over last year.