Headinvest LLC boosted its position in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 10.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 48,776 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 4,575 shares during the period. Wal-Mart Stores comprises about 1.2% of Headinvest LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Headinvest LLC’s holdings in Wal-Mart Stores were worth $3,691,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Fred Alger Management Inc. raised its position in Wal-Mart Stores by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Fred Alger Management Inc. now owns 29,172 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,016,000 after buying an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. Old Mutual Global Investors UK Ltd. raised its position in 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 worth $58,342,000 after buying an additional 31,436 shares during the last quarter. British Columbia Investment Management Corp raised its position 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 during the last quarter. Davis R M Inc. purchased a new position in Wal-Mart Stores during the first quarter worth about $249,000. Finally, Cohen Lawrence B raised its position 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 during the last quarter. 30.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT) opened at 80.40 on Friday. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.28 and a 1-year high of $81.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $77.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.15. The firm has a market cap of $242.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.26 and a beta of 0.29.
Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 18th. The retailer reported $1.00 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. Wal-Mart Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. will post $4.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WMT. Vetr cut Wal-Mart Stores from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $80.69 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, June 19th. Jefferies Group LLC lifted their price target on Wal-Mart Stores from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $67.00 price target on shares of Wal-Mart Stores in a research note on Tuesday, May 2nd. BidaskClub cut Wal-Mart Stores from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $77.00 price target on Wal-Mart Stores and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Wal-Mart Stores presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.40.
In other Wal-Mart Stores news, insider David Cheesewright sold 25,729 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,576,324 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now owns 6,748,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $530,775,817. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 23,006,720 shares of company stock worth $1,816,131,604. 51.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
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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