Lincoln National Corp boosted its position in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 5.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,148 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 534 shares during the period. Lincoln National Corp’s holdings in Wal-Mart Stores were worth $732,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bridgeworth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wal-Mart Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $368,000. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Wal-Mart Stores during the fourth quarter valued at $376,000. Summit Global Investments bought a new position in shares of Wal-Mart Stores during the fourth quarter valued at $5,213,000. United Capital Financial Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Wal-Mart Stores by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. United Capital Financial Advisers LLC now owns 225,961 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $15,618,000 after buying an additional 8,507 shares during the period. Finally, Cigna Investments Inc. New bought a new position in shares of Wal-Mart Stores during the fourth quarter valued at $4,285,000. Institutional investors own 30.16% of the company’s stock.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE WMT) opened at 79.81 on Friday. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.28 and a 12-month high of $80.47. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $76.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.26. The stock has a market cap of $240.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.12 and a beta of 0.28.
Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 18th. The retailer reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.04. Wal-Mart Stores had a return on equity of 16.96% and a net margin of 2.79%. The firm had revenue of $116.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. will post $4.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Wal-Mart Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The) set a $84.00 price objective on Wal-Mart Stores and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $74.00 price objective on Wal-Mart Stores and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 24th. Vetr cut Wal-Mart Stores from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating and set a $64.26 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, July 17th. Finally, Jefferies Group LLC set a $88.00 price objective on Wal-Mart Stores and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Wal-Mart Stores currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.46.
In other news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,576,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.65, for a total value of $202,627,882.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,748,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $530,775,817. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider David Chojnowski sold 5,142 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.36, for a total value of $408,069.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,006,720 shares of company stock worth $1,816,131,604 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 51.39% of the company’s stock.
Wal-Mart Stores Company Profile
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc is engaged in the operation of retail, wholesale and other units in various formats around the world. The Company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International and Sam’s Club. The Walmart U.S. segment includes its mass merchant concept in the United States operating under the Walmart or Wal-Mart brands, as well as digital retail.
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