Google Inc. just formally joined the blue-chip stock society.
March 27, 2006 (Press Release) --
Shares of Google leaped 8.1% in Thursday's evening trading session after Standard & Poor's said it would add the company to its benchmark S&P 500 Index.
Google, already the Internet's most closely followed stock, will be added to the index as of the close of trading on March 31, Standard & Poor's said in an announcement issued after the market closed.
The decision instantly puts Google -- less than two years after going public -- on the shopping list of hundreds of mutual fund managers who run portfolios that track the components of the S&P 500 . Google will replace shares of Burlington Resources Inc., which is being acquired by ConocoPhillips .
Google's entry into the vaunted S&P 500 has been expected since 2004, when investors interest in the Mountain View, Calif.-based search-engine giant reached frenzy levels.
Indeed, Google, with a market cap exceeding $103 billion, is already widely held among institutions.
Of the nearly 296 million shares outstanding, more than 21%, or 62 million shares, were owned by 669 funds, according to the most recent available data from fund-tracker Morningstar.
In early February, Bear Stearns predicted Google's addition to the blue-chip index was imminent, noting it was the only one of the top four Internet companies that had yet to be included.
Historically, stocks added to the S&P 500 average gains of about 8.5% during the 30-day window following the announcement up to the actual inclusion, according to Bear Stearns.
Source: Bambi Francisco (MarketWatch)
Google, already the Internet's most closely followed stock, will be added to the index as of the close of trading on March 31, Standard & Poor's said in an announcement issued after the market closed.
The decision instantly puts Google -- less than two years after going public -- on the shopping list of hundreds of mutual fund managers who run portfolios that track the components of the S&P 500 . Google will replace shares of Burlington Resources Inc., which is being acquired by ConocoPhillips .
Google's entry into the vaunted S&P 500 has been expected since 2004, when investors interest in the Mountain View, Calif.-based search-engine giant reached frenzy levels.
Indeed, Google, with a market cap exceeding $103 billion, is already widely held among institutions.
Of the nearly 296 million shares outstanding, more than 21%, or 62 million shares, were owned by 669 funds, according to the most recent available data from fund-tracker Morningstar.
In early February, Bear Stearns predicted Google's addition to the blue-chip index was imminent, noting it was the only one of the top four Internet companies that had yet to be included.
Historically, stocks added to the S&P 500 average gains of about 8.5% during the 30-day window following the announcement up to the actual inclusion, according to Bear Stearns.
Source: Bambi Francisco (MarketWatch)
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