AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – U.S. asset management firm Artisan Investments has raised its stake in Philips to 10%, sending the healthcare technology group’s shares rising on Wednesday, a week after the Dutch company’s biggest shareholder also increased its holding.
At 1045 GMT, Philips shares were up 1.66% at 23.90 euros, outperforming the Dutch stock market blue-chip AEX (+1.05%) as well as the Stoxx Europe 600 healthcare index (-0.1%).
After raising its stake, Artisan Investments now owns 94.13 million shares in Philips, or about 10% of the company, according to a regulatory filing published earlier.
“Artisan has owned more than 9% in Philips for quite some time and has recently increased their stake to 10% after (our) Q1 results. We see this as a signal of trust in our strategy and plan,” a Philips spokesperson told Reuters.
Artisan Investments is now Philips’ second-largest shareholder behind Exor, the investment arm of Italy’s Agnelli family, which increased its stake to 17.51% last week.
Philips reported a better-than-expected first-quarter profit on April 29, with its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes and amortisation (EBITA) jumping 8% to 388 million euros ($417.22 million).
The company also announced a smaller-than-expected settlement on the same day to resolve claims over recalled breathing devices in the U.S.
($1 = 0.9300 euros)
(Reporting by Toby Sterling and Benoit Van Overstraeten; Editing by Louise Heavens and Anil D’Silva)
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