Auto Part Maker Wynn’s Planning 3-for-2 Stock Split

Directors of Wynn’s International Inc., a quiet but consistently profitable automotive parts and chemicals maker, have approved the company’s fourth stock split in five years after the stock price more than doubled in the last 12 months.

The 3-for-2 split will be effective on Dec. 22. Shareholders will be mailed one new share for every two held, and the company will pay cash for fractional shares.

Wynn’s stock closed Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange at $32.13 a share, down 13 cents for the day. The stock’s price, adjusted by three previous 3-for-2 splits, has climbed steadily during the decade from a low of $4.11 a share in early 1990.

The company makes automotive chemical additives, cooling system cleaning equipment, gaskets and other sealing products and, through a subsidiary, a line of hardware supplies.

Following the new stock split, there will be 19.2 million shares of Wynn’s common stock in the market.

James Carroll, Wynn’s chairman, said the split is part of the company’s ongoing effort to make the stock available to as many investors as possible. One effect of a stock split is, usually, a reduction in the stock’s trading price because each post-split share represents a smaller piece of the company.