Wickes holders approved a 1-for-5 stock split.

Shareholders of the Santa Monica-based company overwhelmingly approved the “reverse” split, effective in August. The split, which will reduce the company’s outstanding shares to 47.8 million from 239 million, is designed to boost Wickes’ image on Wall Street along with its share price. At a standing-room-only annual meeting attended by about 450 in Century City, Chairman Sanford C. Sigoloff also announced that the company, now traded on the American Stock Exchange, intends to apply for listing on the New York Stock Exchange in August. Edmund M. Kaufman, an outside director heading an investigation into the company’s carpet problem, said a cost estimate is still at least a couple of months away.