Taking Stock

In case you’re wondering what the professional money men have been doing in the stock market, take a look at the two biggest Dallas portfolio managers – the trust departments of First National Bank and Republic National Bank. Under a recent ruling by the Comptroller of the Currency, First National, Republic or any other bank managing $75 million or more in trusts must report its quarterly stock transactions. Vickers Associates, a division of New York’s Wiesenberger Services, is compiling the data from official reports. Here are highlights gleaned from the latest compilations.

Both First National and Republic made substantialpurchases in 11 major corporations during the lastquarter of 1974. Total common shares purchased include:

Company First National Republic

Dr Pepper 60,400 235,250

Du Pont 24,710 36,755

Exxon 21,948 10,317

Kresge 34,564 22,400

Lone Star Gas 19,014 11,700

Manufacturers Hanover 45,000 18,000

Masonite Corporation 70,200 27,300

May Department Stores 40,500 40,000

Minnesota Mining 23,580 5,875

Penney’s 18,345 36,811

Texas Instruments 29,000 119,250

American Telephone & Telegraph was the one major stock both First National and Republic sold – First National selling 20,829 shares and Republic selling 264,970 shares.

First National was particularly bullish in late 1974, increasing its position in a number of corporations. Among the largest purchases were: Champion Spark Plugs, 151,500 shares; CIT Financial, 50,500 shares; Citicorp, 63,800 shares; Maytag, 48,000 shares; NLT Corporation, 104,100 shares; Squibb, 52,500 shares; Tenneco, 141,325 shares; Weyer-hauser, 43,068 shares; and Zale Corporation, 99,000 shares.



Among Republic’s heaviest purchases were: Avon, 59,838 shares; Household Finance, 70,200 shares; Hercules Inc., 49,050 shares; Rohm & Haas, 49,650 shares; and Tandy Corporation, 76,700 shares. Republic sold heavily in four companies: Citicorp, 91,500 shares; Dow Chemical, 63,000 shares; Mesa Petroleum, 94,000 shares; and Standard Oil of Ohio, 63,720 shares.



These reports reveal for the first time the bank’s holdings in American corporations and it’s interesting to note the heavy investments both First and Republic have in local companies. First National owns more than 11 per cent of Dr Pepper’s outstanding common stock, while Republic owns better than 18 per cent of Southland Financial’s outstanding common shares. The six most significant local positions are:

Company First National Republic Dr Pepper 2,185,050 676,953

Lone Star Gas 749,663 544,289

National Chemsearch 133,720 726,620

Southland Financial 92,192 2,294,088

Southwestern Life 576,770 449,290

Texas Instruments 54,564 1,300,658



Entering 1975, both First National and Republic weretaking strong positions in heavy industrial stocks, whileFirst National also bought into retailing. Republic’s sellingwas concentrated in utilities and banks.