U.S. Business: Public Private Eye

Pinkerton's National Detective Agency, the firm that made "private eye" a popular phrase, finally went public last week. Under fourth-generation President Robert A. Pinkerton II, the family-owned firm, which has used "We Never Sleep" as a motto and an unblinking eye as its trademark while running up a record for running down all sorts of criminals, is now a quarry itself—for investors. Pegged at $23 a share when it went on sale, $6,900,000 worth of Pinkerton stock soon sold at $29.75.

Less Derring-Do. That nice price reflects the fact that the agency, presently...

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