Comerica Bank boosted its position in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 599,496 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 6,816 shares during the period. Comerica Bank’s holdings in Wal-Mart Stores were worth $45,226,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Asset Planning Services Ltd. raised its position in Wal-Mart Stores by 0.7% in the first quarter. Asset Planning Services Ltd. now owns 1,511 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. High Point Bank & Trust Co. raised its position in Wal-Mart Stores by 71.9% in the fourth quarter. High Point Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,960 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $136,000 after buying an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI raised its position in Wal-Mart Stores by 7.2% in the first quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 2,504 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $180,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Alexandria Capital LLC raised its position in Wal-Mart Stores by 0.9% in the first quarter. Alexandria Capital LLC now owns 2,513 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $181,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Paragon Capital Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Wal-Mart Stores during the first quarter worth approximately $201,000. Institutional investors own 30.12% of the company’s stock.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT) opened at 80.48 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $76.55 and its 200-day moving average is $73.51. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.28 and a 52 week high of $81.40. The firm has a market cap 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 data on Thursday, May 18th. The retailer reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.04. Wal-Mart Stores had a net margin of 2.79% and a return on equity of 16.96%. The firm had revenue of $116.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. will post $4.36 earnings per share for the current year.
A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “hold” rating on shares of Wal-Mart Stores in a research report on Sunday, June 4th. Goldman Sachs Group Inc restated a “neutral” rating and set a $74.00 target price on shares of Wal-Mart Stores in a research report on Monday, May 15th. Vetr upgraded Wal-Mart Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $79.40 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 15th. BidaskClub upgraded Wal-Mart Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 31st. Finally, Morningstar, Inc. reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Wal-Mart Stores in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.86.
In other Wal-Mart Stores news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 1,157,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.06, for a total value of $90,354,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,748,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $526,794,154.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider David Cheesewright sold 25,729 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.65, for a total transaction of $1,972,127.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,006,720 shares of company stock valued at $1,816,131,604 over 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.
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