Oracle and GE Dole Out Largest Equity Awards in June

Every month, Compliance Week publishes a list of the largest stock option grants and restricted stock awards during the previous period. The data and analysis are provided by compensation research firm Equilar.

In June, two companies dominated the list of top stock option grants: Oracle and General Electric.

Oracle awarded options packages to five top executives, including CEO Larry Ellison and President Mark Hurd. In fact, Ellison landed the largest options package so far this year. The technology company gave Ellison 7 million options on June 29 with a strike price of $32.43, implying a face value of $227 million. That figure tops the options and restricted stock package with a face value just shy of $167 million that Google gave Eric Schmidt, chairman, in February.

Oracle also awarded 5 million options each to presidents Mark Hurd and Safra Catz, implying a face value of $162 million. Thomas Kurian, executive vice president of product development, received 4 million options with a face value of $130 million, and John Fowler, executive vice president of systems, received 2 million options, implying a face value of nearly $65 million.

GE awarded the same package to four of its vice chairman. Keith Sherin, John Rice, Michael Neal, and John Krenicki each received 850,000 options on June 9 with a strike price of $18.58, implying a face value of $15.8 million. Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt did not make the list.

The top restricted stock award went to Robert Antin, chairman and CEO of VCA Antech, which operates veterinary hospitals and clinics. He received 500,000 shares on June 24 at a price of $20.23, implying a value of $10.1 million.

Other top restricted stock awards went to Omar Ishrak, chairman and CEO of Medtronic; top executives at Quiksilver, including CEO Robert McKnight, and Angel Martinez, CEO of Deckers Outdoor.

Trends, Performance

Equilar noted that companies continue to issue performance-based options and restricted stock. For example, on June 13 Quiksilver granted stock options to one executive with the following footnote:

“The stock options vest annually and ratably over five years and upon the achievement of pre-established stock price targets, except for accelerated vesting for a portion of the stock options if pre-established performance metrics are exceeded.”

VCA Antech granted performance-based restricted stock to five executives, and noted that the compensation committee of the board must certify that the targets were met. The footnote read:

“These shares of restricted stock will vest if certain performance targets are met and certified by the Compensation Committee of the issuer's board of directors (the “Compensation Committee”) and the reporting person satisfies applicable service requirements. Subject to meeting the performance targets and certification by the Compensation Committee, these shares will vest in four equal annual installments starting on the first anniversary of the date of grant; provided the reporting person is employed by the issuer on such dates.”

Only one company granted premium-priced options. Advanced Micro Devices granted stock options to four executives with an exercise price 8.67 percent higher than the company's closing stock price at issue of $7.50.

A downloadable spreadsheet of the top 10 equity awards in June can be found in the box above, right. Also available are data from 2004-2010.