Navistar Block a Blockbuster

A block of Navistar International stock totaling more than 48 million shares traded Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange, dwarfing all other trades ever handled in the United States.

An exchange spokeswoman said the block of 48.79 million shares set an NYSE record in both volume and dollar value. Each share fetched $10, bringing the total value of the transaction to $487.9 million. On the NYSE, Navistar closed up 25 cents at $10.37 1/2.

Navistar was formerly known as International Harvester.

The previous record NYSE block trade occurred on June 21, 1984, when a 10-million-share chunk of Superior Oil stock sold for $42.375 a share, or $423.75 million. It was bought by Mobil as part of its $5.7-billion purchase of Superior.

Of the shares included in the Navistar block, 43.49 million were sold by institutions that acquired a stake in the company when it underwent a financial restructuring in 1983, said Victor Cohn, a managing director at the Salomon Bros. investment firm.