Autus Asset Management LLC Sells 2,099 Shares of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Autus Asset Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 36.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,642 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,099 shares during the period. Autus Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Wal-Mart Stores were worth $263,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Old Mutual Global Investors UK Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Wal-Mart Stores by 4.0% in the first quarter. Old Mutual Global Investors UK Ltd. now owns 809,413 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $58,342,000 after buying an additional 31,436 shares during the period. British Columbia Investment Management Corp raised its stake in Wal-Mart Stores by 35.8% in the first quarter. British Columbia Investment Management Corp now owns 795,766 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $57,359,000 after buying an additional 209,619 shares in the last quarter. Davis R M Inc. bought a new stake in Wal-Mart Stores during the first quarter worth $249,000. Cohen Lawrence B raised its stake in Wal-Mart Stores by 0.4% in the first quarter. Cohen Lawrence B now owns 6,050 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $436,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Advisors LLC raised its stake in Wal-Mart Stores by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Teachers Advisors LLC now owns 3,251,918 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $224,773,000 after buying an additional 35,845 shares in the last quarter. 30.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT) opened at 80.48 on Friday. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.28 and a 52-week high of $81.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $76.55 and a 200-day moving average of $73.51. The company has a market capitalization of $242.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.27 and a beta of 0.29.

Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 18th. The retailer reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $116.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. will post $4.36 earnings per share for the current year.

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WMT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Vetr upgraded Wal-Mart Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $79.40 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, May 15th. Jefferies Group LLC upped their target price on Wal-Mart Stores from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 12th. Gordon Haskett began coverage on Wal-Mart Stores in a research report on Tuesday, May 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Investment Research raised Wal-Mart Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $84.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 25th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Wal-Mart Stores in a research report on Saturday, May 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. The stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $78.86.

In other Wal-Mart Stores news, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 3,278,735 shares of Wal-Mart Stores stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.00, for a total value of $259,020,065.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,507,224 shares in the company, valued at $830,070,696. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider David Cheesewright sold 25,729 shares of Wal-Mart Stores stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.65, for a total value of $1,972,127.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,006,720 shares of company stock valued at $1,816,131,604 in the last three months. 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.