Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT) Shares Bought by Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its position in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 140,871 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 4,506 shares during the period. Wal-Mart Stores accounts for about 0.9% of Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Wal-Mart Stores were worth $10,661,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rothschild Investment Corp IL raised its stake in shares of Wal-Mart Stores by 4.4% in the second quarter. Rothschild Investment Corp IL now owns 49,184 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,722,000 after buying an additional 2,070 shares during the last quarter. Crossvault Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Wal-Mart Stores by 5.5% in the second quarter. Crossvault Capital Management LLC now owns 12,990 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $983,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Torch Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wal-Mart Stores during the second quarter worth approximately $1,544,000. Doyle Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Wal-Mart Stores by 8.5% in the second quarter. Doyle Wealth Management now owns 178,045 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $13,474,000 after buying an additional 13,875 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osborn Williams & Donohoe LLC raised its stake in shares of Wal-Mart Stores by 1.3% in the second quarter. Osborn Williams & Donohoe LLC now owns 5,655 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $428,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. 30.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT) traded up 0.019% during midday trading on Friday, hitting $79.715. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,573,298 shares. The company’s 50-day moving average is $77.99 and its 200 day moving average is $74.54. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $65.28 and a one year high of $81.99. The company has a market cap of $240.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.101 and a beta of 0.29.

Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 17th. The retailer reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $123.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $121.86 billion. Wal-Mart Stores had a return on equity of 16.96% and a net margin of 2.79%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.07 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. will post $4.37 EPS for the current year.

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A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Group LLC set a $93.00 price target on Wal-Mart Stores and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Wal-Mart Stores from $76.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Wal-Mart Stores in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup Inc. raised their price target on Wal-Mart Stores from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, MKM Partners reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Wal-Mart Stores in a research note on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.01.

In other news, Director S Robson Walton sold 1,321,340 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.61, for a total value of $103,870,537.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 3,278,735 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.00, for a total value of $259,020,065.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,507,224 shares in the company, valued at $830,070,696. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,001,578 shares of company stock worth $1,815,723,535 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 51.39% of the company’s stock.

About Wal-Mart Stores

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.