Gratus Capital LLC lowered its position in shares of Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,566 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 450 shares during the period. Gratus Capital LLC’s holdings in Wal-Mart Stores were worth $1,076,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Macquarie Group Ltd. increased its stake in Wal-Mart Stores by 29.8% in the second quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 48,187 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,519,000 after buying an additional 11,057 shares during the last quarter. Bremer Trust National Association increased its stake in Wal-Mart Stores by 1.9% in the third quarter. Bremer Trust National Association now owns 13,577 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $979,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC purchased a new stake in Wal-Mart Stores during the third quarter worth $1,878,000. Lawson Kroeker Investment Management Inc. NE increased its stake in Wal-Mart Stores by 0.5% in the third quarter. Lawson Kroeker Investment Management Inc. NE now owns 106,061 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,649,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canal Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Wal-Mart Stores by 10.1% in the third quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC now owns 16,792 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,211,000 after buying an additional 1,539 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 29.69% of the company’s stock.
Shares of Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT) traded up 0.19% on Friday, reaching $74.94. The company had a trading volume of 5,755,691 shares. Wal-Mart Stores Inc has a 1-year low of $62.72 and a 1-year high of $75.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $227.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.11 and a beta of 0.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $71.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.88. Wal-Mart Stores also was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Traders acquired 35,280 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 383% compared to the average volume of 7,309 call options.
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 6th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. Wal-Mart Stores’s payout ratio is 43.48%.
A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. Cowen and Company reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $83.00 target price on shares of Wal-Mart Stores in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. Goldman Sachs Group Inc set a $74.00 target price on Wal-Mart Stores and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. Jefferies Group LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 price target on shares of Wal-Mart Stores in a report on Friday, April 7th. Susquehanna Bancshares Inc assumed coverage on Wal-Mart Stores in a report on Friday, February 10th. They set a “positive” rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. Finally, MKM Partners set a $72.00 target price on Wal-Mart Stores and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Wal-Mart Stores currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.33.
In other Wal-Mart Stores news, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 3,667,343 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.99, for a total value of $264,012,022.57. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,507,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $756,408,072.73. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 3,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.50, for a total transaction of $211,500,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,507,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $740,752,453.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,585,041 shares of company stock worth $1,110,035,611 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 51.55% 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.
