Dec. 7 (Bloomberg) -- The number of U.S. stocks selling for $100 a share or more has doubled since Google Inc. reached that milestone in its first day of trading almost 16 months ago. To reach new investors, some of those companies may choose to divide and conquer.

The 24 stocks to eclipse the century mark since August 2004 include shares of financial companies such as Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Bear Stearns Cos. Whole Foods Market Inc., which last month announced a stock split, may be a precedent, says A.G. Edwards Inc.'s Scott Wren.

``Most companies want their stock to be appealing to a wide audience,'' said Wren, an equity strategist for the St. Louis- based firm.

A stock split has no effect on the value of an investment. It redistributes a company's equity over a larger number of shares. Still, investors see splits as bullish indicators because corporate boards aren't likely to cut their company's share price when they expect the stock to drop.

A 2-for-1 split on a $100 stock would give investors two $50 shares for each share they own. Individual investors perceive stocks with triple-digit prices as expensive and pay less attention than professional investors do to share price relative to earnings.

The median price of the 2,800 companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange is about $26 a share.

Split Benefits

Academic research shows both investors and companies benefit from stock splits.

David Ikenberry of the University of Illinois in Champaign found that stocks rose 3.5 percent in the trading session following a split announcement, and gained another 9 percentage points more than similar stocks in the next year. The average number of shareholders in a company rose 20 percent in the 12 months after a split, according to a 2004 paper by Ravi Dhar and William Goetzmann of the Yale School of Management and Ning Zhu of the University of California at Davis.

``There's an assumption that it's generally reflective of future positive news and stock splits are a communication of that to the marketplace,'' Dhar said in a telephone interview from his office in New Haven, Connecticut. ``We ran focus groups and people said they buy stocks after the split because you can get them cheaper. It's purely psychological.''

Of the 20 stocks that sold for $100 apiece or more when Google reached the mark on Aug. 19, 2004, three have since split: Golden West Financial Corp., which operates banking and loan offices; Titanium Metals Corp., a producer of airline parts; and E.W. Scripps Co., the owner of Home & Garden Television and 21 daily newspapers.

Google, Berkshire

Shares of Google, the world's most-used Internet search engine, have more than quadrupled in that time, to $404.54. Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said at the annual shareholders' meeting in May that the Mountain View, California-based company has no plans to split its stock. Co-founder Sergey Brin said Google wouldn't rule out a split.

Prior to the IPO, Google executives mentioned billionaire Warren Buffett in a letter to potential shareholders as an inspiration for the company. Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has never split since he took control 40 years ago. The company's Class A and B shares are the two most expensive U.S. stocks, selling for $89,900 and $2,990, respectively.

Ten of the companies that surpassed $100 in the past year are in the financial and insurance industries. Shares of Lehman Brothers, the No. 4 securities firm by market value, have rallied 45 percent this year to $127.25. Bear Stearns, the fifth-biggest, has gained 10 percent to $112.87. Both companies, located in New York, reported record third-quarter profit.

Merrill's Splits

Lehman last split its stock in 2000, after the shares closed as high as $160. Bear Stearns hasn't split its shares since 1986. Bear Stearns spokeswoman Elizabeth Ventura and Lehman spokeswoman Tasha Pelio declined to comment on whether the companies plan to split their shares.

Shares of Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the second-largest securities firm, are up 26 percent at $131.31. They first topped $100 in March 2000. Goldman, based in New York, also had record profit last quarter. The company, which went public in 1999, has never split its stock. Goldman spokesman Peter Rose didn't return a call.

Merrill Lynch & Co., the biggest securities firm, split its shares in 1993, 1997 and 2000 as the stock approached or surpassed $100. The stock closed yesterday at $67.85.

An index of financial stocks in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index has gained an average 5.5 percent annually the past five years, compared with 0.6 percent for the broader benchmark.

``Large-cap financial stocks are in a growth industry and are some of the leaders in that sector,'' said Jeffery Harte, an analyst at Sandler O'Neill Partners in Chicago. ``Earnings will grow much more quickly than overall corporate America and push you to $100 more quickly.''

Financial Rally

Whole Foods, the largest U.S. natural-foods grocer, said on Nov. 9 it would split the stock 2-for-1. Shares of the Austin, Texas-based company have surged 57 percent this year to $149.72 as revenue increased 22 percent.

Other financial companies to surpass $100 in the past year include: BlackRock Inc., the No. 2 manager of bond investments for institutions; Legg Mason Inc., the fifth-biggest money manager in the U.S.; Cigna Corp., the No. 4 U.S. health-insurance provider; Progressive Corp., the third-largest U.S. car insurer; and M&T Bank Corp., whose second-biggest shareholder is Berkshire Hathaway.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ari Levy in New York at alevy5@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: December 7, 2005 06:24 EST