Westchester Capital Management LLC Purchases 404,581 Shares of VMware, Inc. (NYSE:VMW)

Westchester Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of VMware, Inc. (NYSE:VMW – Get Rating) by 87.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 866,366 shares of the virtualization software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 404,581 shares during the period. VMware accounts for approximately 1.9% of Westchester Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Westchester Capital Management LLC owned 0.20% of VMware worth $92,233,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Greenleaf Trust lifted its position in shares of VMware by 3.0% during the second quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,023 shares of the virtualization software provider’s stock worth $345,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its position in shares of VMware by 3.0% during the second quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 3,386 shares of the virtualization software provider’s stock worth $386,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of VMware by 0.9% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 11,620 shares of the virtualization software provider’s stock worth $1,324,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of VMware by 3.8% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,076 shares of the virtualization software provider’s stock worth $350,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of VMware by 0.8% in the third quarter. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,311 shares of the virtualization software provider’s stock worth $1,630,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.85% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at VMware

In other news, EVP Jean Pierre Brulard sold 6,651 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.01, for a total transaction of $804,837.51. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 69,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,417,818.63. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 40.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VMW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on VMware from $131.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded VMware from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on VMware from $142.50 to $139.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $135.88.

VMware Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE VMW opened at $119.40 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $119.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $116.78. VMware, Inc. has a twelve month low of $91.53 and a twelve month high of $132.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.02. The company has a market capitalization of $50.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.77, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.72.

VMware Company Profile

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VMware, Inc engages in the provision of cloud infrastructure and business mobility. Its products include Software-Defined Data Center, Hybrid Cloud Computing, and End-User Computing. It supports modernizing data centers, integrating public clouds, empowering digital workspaces and transforming security.