Tag Archives: symc

Amazon urged to join eBay, HP in spinoff trend

2015 could be the year of the spinoff, with eBay (EBAY), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) and others spinning off divisions to unlock shareholder value, according to the Edge Consulting Group. E-commerce company eBay plans to spin off its digital payments unit PayPal as a separate public company next year. And HP plans to split into two publicly traded entities. One company will be devoted to servers, software and cloud technology, while the other will focus on HP’s traditional PC and printer businesses. Meanwhile, Symantec (SYMC) plans to split into two companies as well, with one focused on security and another on information management. In a report Monday, Edge Consulting Group suggested two other potential spinoffs involving Amazon.com (AMZN) and EMC (EMC). In October, hedge fund manager Elliott Management urged data storage company EMC to spin off its majority-owned VMware (VMW). “EMC and VMware have grown and are now competing…

Microsoft might loosen purse strings for shareholders

Microsoft (MSFT) stock got a boost Thursday on speculation that the company might be planning to return more cash to shareholders. Microsoft rose 1.6% to 48.84 on the reports. In a research note Thursday, Nomura analyst Rick Sherlund said he believes Microsoft is likely to spend more of its cash hoard on share repurchases. Whereas predecessors Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates preferred to “retain cash for a rainy day,” new CEO Satya Nadella may be open to bigger capital returns, Sherlund said. Sherlund reiterated his buy rating on Microsoft stock and raised his price target to 56 from 50. Changes to the board of directors make an increased capital return program more likely, Sherlund said, according to the Wall Street Journal. John Thompson, former CEO of Symantec(SYMC) replaced Gates as chairman in February and Ballmer left the board in August. Plus, activist hedge fund ValueAct Capital Management has gotten…

Symantec Q2 Revenue Misses; Split-Up On Track

Symantec (SYMC) is on track to split into two companies by March, says its CEO, as Q2 revenue missed but the company raised its fiscal year outlook as it plans to roll out 40 new products. Late Wednesday, the maker of security and storage software said its expects EPS ex items for its fiscal Q3 ending on or near Dec. 28 will be 47 cents to 50 cents, down 2%-8% from 51 cents in the year-earlier quarter. Its expects revenue of $1.65 billion to $1.69