Dec. 7 (Bloomberg) -- The number of U.S. stocks selling for $100 a share or more has doubled since Google Inc. reached that milestone in its first day of trading almost 16 months ago. To reach new investors, some of those companies may choose to divide and conquer.

The 24 stocks to eclipse the century mark since August 2004 include shares of financial companies such as Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Bear Stearns Cos. Whole Foods Market Inc., which last month announced a stock split, may be a precedent, says A.G. Edwards Inc.'s Scott Wren.

A stock split has no effect on the value of an investment. It redistributes a company's equity over a larger number of shares. Still, investors see splits as bullish indicators because corporate boards aren't likely to cut their company's share price when they expect the stock to drop.

A 2-for-1 split on a $100 stock would give investors two $50 shares for each share they own. Individual investors perceive stocks with triple-digit prices as expensive and pay less attention than professional investors do to share price relative to earnings.

Of the 20 stocks that sold for $100 apiece or more when Google reached the mark on Aug. 19, 2004, three have since split: Golden West Financial Corp., which operates banking and loan offices; Titanium Metals Corp., a producer of airline parts; and E.W. Scripps Co., the owner of Home & Garden Television and 21 daily newspapers.

Shares of Google, the world's most-used Internet search engine, have more than quadrupled in that time, to $404.54. Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said at the annual shareholders' meeting in May that the Mountain View, California-based company has no plans to split its stock. Co-founder Sergey Brin said Google wouldn't rule out a split.

Prior to the IPO, Google executives mentioned billionaire Warren Buffett in a letter to potential shareholders as an inspiration for the company. Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has never split since he took control 40 years ago. The company's Class A and B shares are the two most expensive U.S. stocks, selling for $89,900 and $2,990, respectively.

Ten of the companies that surpassed $100 in the past year are in the financial and insurance industries. Shares of Lehman Brothers, the No. 4 securities firm by market value, have rallied 45 percent this year to $127.25. Bear Stearns, the fifth-biggest, has gained 10 percent to $112.87. Both companies, located in New York, reported record third-quarter profit.

Shares of Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the second-largest securities firm, are up 26 percent at $131.31. They first topped $100 in March 2000. Goldman, based in New York, also had record profit last quarter. The company, which went public in 1999, has never split its stock. Goldman spokesman Peter Rose didn't return a call.

Merrill Lynch & Co., the biggest securities firm, split its shares in 1993, 1997 and 2000 as the stock approached or surpassed $100. The stock closed yesterday at $67.85.

An index of financial stocks in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index has gained an average 5.5 percent annually the past five years, compared with 0.6 percent for the broader benchmark.

Whole Foods, the largest U.S. natural-foods grocer, said on Nov. 9 it would split the stock 2-for-1. Shares of the Austin, Texas-based company have surged 57 percent this year to $149.72 as revenue increased 22 percent.

This is cache, read story here