Stock | Major investor Ariel's stake slips below 5%

Ariel Investments owned 11.5 million Gannett shares as of Dec. 31, the Chicago money manager said in a federal regulatory filing today, down significantly from 14.9 million a year ago.

That reduced its stake of all GCI shares to 4.8% from 6.2%, according to its annual notice to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Ariel's filing follows similar reports this week and last by three other big other money managers: BlackRock, AllianceBernstein, and Vanguard.

Managers such as these are typically passive investors, rarely agitating for management changes.

GCI's stock closed today at $14.81, down 9 cents, or less than 1%.

Stock | No. 1 GCI investor JPMorgan trims stake

In a new regulatory filing, JP Morgan Chase disclosed today that it sold nearly 2 million of its Gannett shares in recent months, reducing the size of its overall stake in the company to 8.9% from 9.6% last fall, and 10.2% in April.

The banking giant owned 21.4 million shares as of Dec. 31 vs. 23 million at Sept. 30, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Morgan emerged as GCI's biggest shareholder in May, when it notified the SEC that it had boosted its holdings by at least 17 million shares.

Today's filing doesn't say how much Morgan received for the shares it sold. From Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, GCI traded between $11.76 and $15.78 a share, according to Google Finance. Today, GCI recently traded for $14.86, up about 1%.

Prior to today's filing, GCI's No. 2 shareholder was mutual fund giant Vanguard Group, at 13.7 million shares, or 5.7% of all, investment site MSN MoneyCentral says. No. 3 was money manager Ariel Investments, at 13.5 million, or 5.7%. That data is at Sept. 30.

Compared to three months ago, are your GCI holdings higher? Lower? The same? Post replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.

Urgent: J.P. Morgan jumps to No. 1 stockholder; bank bulks up to 24M shares, new document says

The investment banking goliath has added at least 17 million shares in the last four months, a new regulatory filing today says, boosting its overall share of Gannett's stock to 10.2%, or 24 million shares as of April 30 -- making it the company's single biggest holder.

J.P. Morgan Chase's filing early this morning with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission does not indicate the bank is anything more than a passive investor. In other words, it is not seeking to change the company's direction via assuming a seat on the board of directors.

The bank's previous stake is listed variously as 5.4 million, or 2.3%, on the low side, and 7.4 million or 3.1%, on the high side. Both those figures are as of Dec. 31. I can't explain the different figures, which come from two different databases. At the moment, I'm looking for more information within Gannett's SEC filings.

GCI soared after the filing: Shares recently traded for $17.14, up $1.10 a share, or 6.9%. That rise far outpaced the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the broader S&P 500 Index, both of which were up less than 1%.

Today's filing doesn't give the prices J.P. Morgan paid. Between Dec. 31 and April 30, Gannett traded from a closing low of $13.53 to a closing high of $18.67, Google Finance says.

Gannett's two top shareholders had been Ariel Investments, with 14.8 million, or 6.3%; and Vanguard Group, with 12.7 million, or 5.4%. Those figures also were as of Dec. 31, public documents show.

Related: The Wall Street Journal's story

Stock | Top investor Ariel trims GCI stake again

Ariel Investments has sold another large block of its Gannett stock, a regulatory filing today shows, reducing its stake to 14.8 million shares as of Dec. 31 from 17.4 million as of Oct. 31. The Chicago-based money manager now owns 6.3% of Gannett's shares, still ranking it as the company's No. 1 investor, according to the filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

No. 2, Vanguard Group, owned 12.7 million shares, or 5.4%, as of Dec. 31, the Boston company said Monday in an SEC filing.

Ariel built up a big stake last year on enthusiasm by Chairman and CEO John Rogers (left) for Gannett's prospects. That smart bet has paid off very well. As recently as March 31 of last year, the company owned 28.8 million Gannett shares -- 12.5% of all. Back then, GCI stock was trading for just $2.20. It closed yesterday at $14.21.

A friend of Obama
Rogers has become one of Washington's most-connected insiders over the past year. He counts among his friends President Obama, with whom he's occasionally played basketball in one of the president's famous pick-up games. Rogers' ex-wive, Desiree, is the White House social secretary, a position that drew her into the controversial state dinner party-crashing incident in November.

What percentage of your 401(k) is now invested in Gannett stock? Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.