Fund Group’s Stake in Oxford Revealed

Franklin Mutual Advisors Inc., a group of investment funds managed by Michael Price, reported that it holds a 5.3% stake in troubled managed-care company Oxford Health Plans Inc.

Oxford shares rose $2.94 to close at $19.25 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The stock rose as much as 15% on news of Price’s stake.

The filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission limits how actively Price can attempt to influence the Norwalk, Conn.-based health-care company, which is in turmoil from delays and errors in customer billing and payments to doctors. Price, though, has often been an outspoken and activist shareholder, pushing for changes at companies such as Dow Jones & Co. and Chase Manhattan Corp.

A spokeswoman for Short Hills, N.J.-based Franklin Mutual declined to comment on the stake purchase, and Price was unavailable for comment. An Oxford spokeswoman declined to comment.

Franklin reported in a Schedule 13G that it held 4.19 million Oxford common shares as of Jan. 30. The mutual fund company held only 85,000 shares Sept. 30, according to Technimetrics Inc., a New York-based company that tracks institutional holdings.

“Basically, what it means is that Michael Price thinks the stock is cheap,” said David Shove, an analyst at Nesbitt Burns Securities Inc. in New York. “If it’s Michael Price, the market takes notice.”

Oxford, one of the largest U.S. health-maintenance organizations, hit an all-time high of $89 on July 24 before it said it had lost track of how much it owed for medical care given to its customers and of how much customers owed in premiums.