11/16/11 Wed am Walmart Reports US Sales Growth - 1st Time in 9 Qtrs; Home Depot's Results Beat Expectations

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Post No. 1,323 The following is brought to you by Intellivest Securities Research, Inc. Toward the end of this Blog is a list of the Dow 30 current CEOs, and a ranking of the Dow 30 components by market capitalization and Dow 30 components' SEC filings in each case as of November 1, 2011.

Your Blogger is in Dublin, Ireland and does not have access to print edition of Wall St Journal & other print US newspapers until Thurs.

A read of the print editions of Wednesday's Financial Times, the Irish Times, & the Daily Telegraph yielded the following stories about Dow Jones Industrial Average 30 component companies and the Dow with stories about the Dow aggregated first and then items about Dow Jones Industrial Average 30 companies presented alphabetically, followed by symbol and Tuesday's stock prices and related data.

Dow Jones Industrial AverageThe Dow Jones Industrial Average closed Tuesday at 12,096.16 up 17.18 or 0.14% from Monday's close of 12,078.98. Of the 30 Dow components 23 gained, Boeing and 3M were unchanged and 5 declined. The biggest gainer dollar-wise was IBM $188.75 +1.40 0.75% 4,584,432 NYSE and percentage-wise was Hewlett-Packard HPQ $28.24 +0.92 3.37% 20,087,936 NYSE. The biggest decliner dollar-wise and percentage-wise was Chevron CVX $103.27 -2.90 2.73% 24,318,873 NYSE.

Fin Times p34 "Walmart fails to receive lift fromUS retail sales growth" by Ajay Makan says US stocks slipped on more worrying news from Europe but positive US economic data limited losses. Although they were not enough to stop a host of bellwether retail names falling on results eleases, retail sales figures gave the market a welcome boost by rising 0.5% month on month in Oct. Walmart was off 2.6% in spite of reporting US sales growth for the first time in 9 quarters. sales were driven by discounting that hurt margins pushing profits 3% lower than in the same quarter of '10 to $3.3 bil. Walmart's size & exposure to thrifty consumers has made it a favorite of defensive investors this year & it remains one of the best performers in the S&P 500. Home Depot dropped despite beating analyst expectations with earnings per share of 60 cents.

As of the open of the market Monday, the current divisor for the Dow Jones Industrial Average found at page C6 of Monday's Wall St. Journal is 0.132129493. Saturday's trailing P/E ratio is 13.06 up from Friday's trailing P/E ratio of 12.79 (year ago it was 14.31); Saturday's P/E estimate is 12.22 down from Friday's P/E estimate of 12.35 (year ago it was 13.22), and Saturday's dividend yield is 2.56 down from yesterday's dividend yield of 2.62 (last year it was 2.54). The Dow's all-time high was 14,164.53 on Oct. 9, 2007. The 12 year low close for the Dow was on March 9, 2009 when it fell to 6,547.05.

Tuesday's Dow Jones Industrial Average closing numerator was 1,598.26 up 2.27 from Monday's closing numerator of 1,595.99. This is the sum of all 30 closing prices. A short cut to the Dow numerator is to multiply the closing Dow by the Divisor. Now, if you divide the Dow numerator increase for today by the divisor (0.132129493) you get the increase in today's Dow. A $1 change in the price of any DJIA stock = a 7.57 change in the average.

The average closing price (the closing numerator divided by 30) of Tuesday's Dow Jones Industrial Average was $53.28 up 0.08 from Monday's average closing price of $53.20. The median closing price of Tuesday's Dow Jones Industrial Average was $42.77 (DD/VZ) up 0.14 from Monday's median closing price of 42.63. The lowest volume was Travelers TRV $57.29 -0.24 0.42% 3,493,291 NYSE and the highest volume again was Bank of America BAC $6.13 +0.08 1.32% 267,983,812 NYSE.

If Tuesday morning before the market opened you had purchased 100 shares of each of the Dow Jones Industrial Average 30 shares (assuming you could buy fractional shares and assuming no transaction costs) and sold at the close you would have made $227 ($159,826 - $159,599).

MarketWatch Tuesday 11/15/11 4:59 pm by Kate Gibson says US stocks closed modestly higher Tuesday, clearing some of the prior day’s drop, after reports cast a more positive light on the U.S. economy, helping curb concern over Europe’s debt crisis.
“We continue to point out that the U.S. economy is doing better than a lot of people in the news portray; the economy and the earnings season have been quite a bit better than expected,” said Brad Sorensen, director of market and sector analysis at the Schwab Center for Financial Research.The trouble in Europe “could have a pretty substantial impact here depending on where it goes, but we don’t think it’ll be too severe, because we think they’ll muddle through,” he added.
After falling as much as 77.7 points and gaining 86.1 points, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 17.18 points, or 0.1%, at 12,096.16. Twenty-three of 30 components closed higher, led by a 3.4% rally in Hewlett-Packard Co. and a 2.9% gain in Intel Corp.However, retailer components Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Home Depot Inc., both of which reported quarterly results before the bell, ended lower. Wal-Mart lost 2.4%. The S&P 500 Index rose 6.02 points, or 0.5%, to 1,257.81, with information technology performing best of its 10 subsectors. Only energy closed lower. The Nasdaq Composite Index also picked up some steam, ending up 28.98 points, or 1.1%, to 2,686.20.For every stock on the decline, nearly two gained on the New York Stock Exchange.Private-equity firm Bain Capital is set to unload 3.7 million shares of LinkedIn, which went public in May.Echoing the prior two sessions, volume was lighter than average. NYSE exchange volume of 781 million was less than 80% of the last month’s average. NYSE composite volume was 3.5 billion. On Monday, composite volume had fallen to just over 3 billion, its lowest since May 27, or about one-third less than its daily average of 4.35 billion.
Data from the Commerce Department showed consumers giving the U.S. economy a lift entering the last quarter of the year, with retail sales climbing more than estimated in October, up 0.5%. Separately, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s index of economic activity edged upward — its first positive reading since May. Read more on Empire State factories gauge.Also, figures from the Labor Department had prices paid to wholesalers in October falling the most in four months, illustrating inflation backing off.“What’s amazing right now is how the market ignores near $100 a barrel oil,” Elliot Spar, market strategist at Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., said of crude’s rise to a more-than three-month high above $99 a barrel. “In addition, the market is unable to look beyond its nose at the consequences of no deal or a kick-the-can-down-the-road outcome from the [debt] supercommittee. I guess this is the new normal,” Spar added of the panel whose mandate is to cut the U.S. deficit by at least $1.2 trillion over the next 10 years, with Congress setting a self-imposed deadline of Nov. 23.“We think the market is going to start paying more attention to that as we get closer to the deadline, but we’re not going to have some grand solution in the next two weeks. They’ll come up with side deals and kick the can down the road until we get past the 2012 election,” said Schwab’s Sorensen.

Tuesday's Closing Dow Numbers and Wednesday's News:

Symbol Last Sale Change % Change Share Volume Market
AT&T T $29.25 +0.06 0.21% 28,649,872 NYSE:

Alcoa AA $10.36 -0.02 0.19% 24,605,844 NYSE:

American Express AXP $49.95 +0.50 1.01% 5,457,563 NYSE:

Bank of America BAC $6.13 +0.08 1.32% 267,983,812 NYSE:

Boeing BA $67.94 unch unch 5,112,365 NYSE:

Caterpillar CAT $97.07 +0.54 0.56% 8,758,478 NYSE:

Chevron CVX $103.27 -2.90 2.73% 24,318,873 NYSE:

Cisco CSCO $19.12 +0.18 0.95% 45,552,212 NASDAQ-GS:

Coke KO $68 +0.21 0.31% 6,104,022 NYSE:

Disney DIS $36.45 +0.33 0.91% 14,226,583 NYSE:

DuPont DD $48.3 +0.05 0.1% 5,521,684 NYSE:

Exxon XOM $79.09 +0.13 0.16% 19,470,571 NYSE:

GE $16.2 +0.10 0.62% 39,721,397 NYSE:

Hewlett-Packard HPQ $28.24 +0.92 3.37% 20,087,936 NYSE:

Home Depot HD $38.07 -0.18 0.47% 15,275,109 NYSE: Fin Times p34 "Walmart fails to receive lift fromUS retail sales growth" by Ajay Makan says US stocks slipped on more worrying news from Europe but positive US economic data limited losses. Although they were not enough to stop a host of bellwether retail names falling on results eleases, retail sales figures gave the market a welcome boost by rising 0.5% month on month in Oct. Walmart was off 2.6% in spite of reporting US sales growth for the first time in 9 quarters. sales were driven by discounting that hurt margins pushing profits 3% lower than in the same quarter of '10 to $3.3 bil. Walmart's size & exposure to thrifty consumers has made it a favorite of defensive investors this year & it remains one of the best performers in the S&P 500. Home Depot dropped despite beating analyst expectations with earnings per share of 60 cents.

Intel INTC $25.34 +0.71 2.88% 77,355,131 NASDAQ-GS:

IBM $188.75 +1.40 0.75% 4,584,432 NYSE:

JPMorgan JPM $32.7 +0.15 0.46% 31,255,405 NYSE:

Johnson & Johnson JNJ $64.99 +0.08 0.12% 10,724,738 NYSE:

Kraft KFT $35.48 +0.05 0.14% 5,180,527 NYSE: Fin Times Magazine Supplement Cover "The Top 50 Women in World Business" has a color photo of Irene Rosenfeld and her title, Chief Executive of Kraft Foods. Rosenfeld is in first place, 6th is Ellen Kullman, CEO of DuPont.

McDonald's MCD $94.47 +0.41 0.44% 5,573,351 NYSE:

Merck MRK $35.73 +0.06 0.17% 8,912,588 NYSE:

Microsoft MSFT $26.74 +0.18 0.68% 43,866,891 NASDAQ-GS:

Pfizer PFE $19.87 +0.08 0.4% 31,803,603 NYSE:

Procter & Gamble PG $63.56 +0.51 0.81% 7,658,487 NYSE:

3M MMM $81.87 unch unch 3,602,249 NYSE:

Travelers TRV $57.29 -0.24 0.42% 3,493,291 NYSE:

United Technologies UTX $79.33 +0.28 0.35% 3,773,553 NYSE:

Verizon VZ $37.24 +0.24 0.65% 19,512,372 DualListed:

Walmart WMT $57.46 -1.43 2.43% 16,002,271 NYSE: Fin Times p22 "Walmart profits drop 2.9% despite rise in sales" by Barney Jopson, p34 "Walmart fails to receive lift fromUS retail sales growth" by Ajay Makan say US stocks slipped on more worrying news from Europe but positive US economic data limited losses. Although they were not enough to stop a host of bellwether retail names falling on results eleases, retail sales figures gave the market a welcome boost by rising 0.5% month on month in Oct. Walmart was off 2.6% in spite of reporting US sales growth for the first time in 9 quarters. sales were driven by discounting that hurt margins pushing profits 3% lower than in the same quarter of '10 to $3.3 bil. Walmart's size & exposure to thrifty consumers has made it a favorite of defensive investors this year & it remains one of the best performers in the S&P 500. Home Depot dropped despite beating analyst expectations with earnings per share of 60 cents.
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Here are the Dow Jones Industrial Average 30 ranked in order of market capitalization rounded to the nearest 1/2 billion as of 11/1/11 followed by number of shares outstanding rounded to the nearest 1/2 billion:

1. Exxon Mobil XOM $379.5 [5]
2. Microsoft MSFT 223 [8.5]
3. IBM 217.5 [1]
4. Chevron CVX 210.5 [2]
5. WalMart WMT 195.5 [3.5]
6. GE 177 [10.5]
7. Johnson & Johnson JNJ 176.5 [3]
8. Procter & Gamble PG 176 [3]
9. AT&T T 173.5 [6]
10. Coke KO 155 [2.5]
11. Pfizer PFE 150.5 [8]
12. JPMorgan Chase JPM 135.5 [4]
13. Intel INTC 129 [5]
14. Merck MRK 106 [3]
15. Verizon VZ 104.5 [3]
16. Cisco CSCO 102 [5.5]
17. McDonald's MCD 96 [1]
18. United Technologies UTX 70.5 [1]
19. Bank of America BAC 69 [10]
20. Disney DIS 65 [2]
21. Kraft KFT 62 [2]
22. Caterpillar CAT 61 [.5]
23. American Express AXP 60.5 [1]
24. Home Depot HD 56 [1.5]
25. 3M MMM 56 [.5]
26. Hewlett-Packard HPQ 53 [2]
27. Boeing BA 49 [1]
28. DuPont DD 44.5 [1]
29. Travelers TRV 24 [.5]
30. Alcoa AA 11.5 [1]

Here are the latest 8K, 10Q & 10K & Proxy & certain other SEC filings as of 11/1/11:

Symbol & Co. Name/Date of Filing/Form Filed/ Comments

AT&T T: 10/27/11 8K re: redemption of 5.87% Notes due 2/1/12
10/20/11 2 8Ks re: 3Qtr results
9/8/11 8K re: redemption of certain notes
9/1/11 8K re: Dept. of Justice lawsuit to block AT&T acquisition of T-Mobile saying it will lessen competition & raise prices
8/5/11 10Q for quarter ended 6/30/11
8/2/11 8K re: sale of global notes
8/1/11 8K re: tendering of all its shares of Telefonos de Mexcio

Alcoa AA: 10/20/11 10Q for Qtr ended 9/30/11
10/14/11 8K re: transcript of 3Qtr earnings call
10/12/11 8K re: 3Qtr results

American Express AXP: 10/19/11 8K re: 3Qtr results
10/17/11 8K re: delinq & write-f stats for 3 months eded 9/30/11
9/15/11 & 9/14/11 8Ks re: delinquency & write-off stats for 3 months ended 8/3/1/11
8/15/11 8K re: delinq. & write-off stats for months of May, June, and July 2011
8/3/11 10Q for quarter ended 6/30/11

Bank of Am BAC: 10/18/11 8K re: 3Qtr results
10/7/11 8K re: separation contracts with Sallie L. Krawcheck & Joe L. Price
9/7/11 8K re: exec changes including departure of Sallie Krawcheck
9/1/11 8K re: Amend Cert of Inc to designate Pref. Shares sold to Berkshire Hathaway for $5 bil
8/29/11 8K re: selling of 13.1 bil shares of China Construct Bank
8/25/11 8K re: sale of securities to Berkshire Hathaway, Inc.

Boeing BA: 10/26/11 10Q for Qtr ended 9/30/11
10/26/11 8K re: 3Qtr results
10/4/11 8K re: election of ex-Contintel CEO Larry Kellner as Director
9/30/11 8K & 8KA re: frequency of shareholder advisory votes

Caterpiller CAT: 10/24/11 8K re: 3 month dealer stats
10/24/11 8K re: results for quarter ended 9/30/11
9/30/11 8K re: price increases
9/29/11 8K re: 3 month dealer stats
9/20/11 8KA 3 Mos dealer stats thru Aug
9/16/11 re: credit agreement
8/18/11 8K re: 3 mos. dealer stats
8/12/11 8K re: clarification of order backlog
8/4/11 10Q for quarter ended 6/30/11

Chevron CVX: 10/28/11 8K re: 3Qtr results
10/11 8K re: 3Qtr results
9/7/11 8K/A re: frequency of shareholder advisory votes
8/4/11 10Q for quarter ended 6/30/11

Cisco CSCO 10/18/11 14A proxy (two) re: Annual Shareholder Meeting to be held 12/7/11 at Santa Clara, CA
9/20/11 8K re: contract with Exec VP Wim Elfrink
9/14/11 10K for year ended 7/30/11
8/24/11 8K re: pre-arranged stock trading plan for CEO John Chambers
8/10/11 8K re: 4Qtr results

Coke KO 10/28/11 S-4 re: exchange of 3.3% Notes due '21 for 1.8% Notes due '16
10/27/11 10Q for Qtr ended 9/30/11
10/18/11 8K re: 3Qtr results
9/1/11 8K re: issuance of senior notes
8/24 & 8/8 8Ks re: issuance of securities as an off-alance sheet arrangement re: Coca-Cola Refreshments USA, Inc.
8/1/11 10Q 2 results ended 7/1/11

Disney DIS 10/25/11 8K re: resignation of Director John E. Bryson to become U.S. Secretary of Commerce
10/7/11 8K re: extension of CEO Robert A. Iger's employment contract
8/19/11 8K re: sale of $750 mil of Global Notes
8/19 10Q & 8/9 8K re: results of quarter ended 7/2/11

DuPont DD: 10/25/11 10Q & 8K re: results for 3Qtr ended 9/30/11
8/8/11 10Q for quarter ended 6/30/11

ExxonMobil XOM: 10/27/11 8K re: 3Qtr results
8/4/11 10Q for quarter ended 6/30/11

GE: 10/21/11 8K re: 3Qtr results
9/13/11 8K re: redemption of shares held by Berkshire Hathaway for $3.3 bil

Hewlett-Packard HPQ: 10/27/11 8K re: decision to keep PC unit
10/3/11 8K re: acceptance of offers to acquire Autonomy
9/29/11 8K re: separation contract with ex-CEO Leo Apotheker
9/28/11 8K re foreign antitrust approval of acquisition of Autonomy
9/22/11 8K re: replacement of CEO Leo Apotheker with Meg Whitman effective immediately
9/19/11 8KA & 8K re: issuance of flotaing global notes
9/13/11 8K re: purchase of Autonomy Corp.
9/9/11 10Q for quarter ended 7/31/11
8/19/11 8K re: offer to purchase Autonomy Corp plc
8/18/11 8K re: 3rd Quarter results ended 7/31/11

Home Depot HD: 9/1/11 10Q for quarter ended 7/31/11
8/16/11 8K re: results of quarter ended 7/31/11

Intel INTC: 10/19/11 & 10/18/11 8Ks re: Results for Qtr ended 10/1/11
9/19/11 & 9/14/11 8Ks re; offering of $5 bil of notes
8/8/11 10Q for quarter ended 7/2/11

IBM: 10/31/11 8K re: offering of $1.85 bil of debt
10/26/11 8K re: election of Virginia M. Rometty as CEO
10/25/11 8K re: election of David Farr, CEO of Emerson, to Bd.
10/25/11 10Q & 10/18/11 8K & 10/17/11 8K re: results for Qtr ended 9/30/11

JPMorganChase JPM: 10/26/11 8K re: offering of $1.75 mil of 4.35% Notes due '21
10/13/11 8K re: 3Qtr results
9/30/11 8K re: reorganiz. of Retail Fin'l Services & Card Business segments
9/13/11 8K re: FD Disclosure re: guidance given at investor conference
8/24/11 8K re: Master Agency Agreement re: Notes offering from time to time
8/10/11 8K re: closing of sale of $1.25 bil of 4.35% notes due 2021
8/5/11 8K re: 10Q for quarter ended 6/30/11
8/5/11 8K re: closing of sale of notes due 2016

Johnson & Johnson JNJ : 10/27/11 S-4 re: acquisition of Synthes
10/18/11 8K re: results for Qtr ended 10/2/11
8/9/11 10Q for quarter ended 7/3/11

Kraft KFT: 9/7/11 8K re: FD Disclosure re: presentation at investor conference
8/5/11 10Q for quarter ended 6/30/11
8/14/11 8K re: amendment of severance agreement with ex-CFO Tim McLevish
8/4/11 8K re: Board of Dirs. intent to spin off global snack business & a N. Amer. grocery business
8/4/11 8K re: 2nd quarter results for quarter ended 6/30/11

McDonald's MCD: 10/21/11 8K re: results for 3Qtr ended 9/30/11
9/30/11 8K re: issuance of $500 mil med-term notes
9/26/11 8K re; declaration of quarterly cash dividend
9/12/11 8K re: August sales
8/19/11 8Ka re: plans to hold annual advisory vote on exec compensation
8/8/11 8K re: investors release
8/5/11 10Q for quarter ended 6/30/11

Merck MRK: 10/28/11 8K re: results for 3Qtr
10/12/11 8K/A re: frequency of shareholder advisory votes on exec comp
8/8/11 10Q for quarter ended 6/30/11

Microsoft MSFT: 10/20/11 10Q & 8K re: results for Qtr ended 9/30/11
10/18/11 & 10/4/11 & 10/3/11 14A Proxies re: Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held 11/15/11 at Bellevue, Wash.

Pfizer PFE: 8/11 10Q for quarter ended 7/3/11
8/2/11 8K re: 2Q results

Procter & Gamble PG: 10/27/11 10Q & 8Ks (two) re: results of 3 Qtr ended 9/30/11
10/14/11 8K re: voting results of annual meeting of shareholders
10/11/11 *K re: quarterly dividend of 52.5 cents
10/11/11 CEO's Bob McDonald speech at annual shareholders meeting
10/6/11 8K re: political contribution policy
9/7/11 Def. 14A Proxy Material re: voting recommendations for directors
8/26/11 Def. 14A Proxy Statement for Notice of Annual Meeting of Shareholder on 10/11/11
8/15/11 8K re: closing of public offering of $1 bil 1.4% Notes due '16
8/10/11 10K for year ended 6/30/11
8/5/11 8K re: results for quarter ended 6/30/11

3M MMM: 10/25/11 8K re: results of 3Qtr
9/29/11 8K re: offer of $4 bil of notes
9/8/11 8K re: Distribution Agrmt with Goldman Sachs re: $3 bil of notes
8/30/11 8K re: $200 mil credit agreement with HSBC Bank
8/10/11 8K re: $1.5 bil 5 year revolving credit agreement with J.P.Morgan Chase
8/4/11 10Q for quarter ended 6/30/11
8/2/11 2 8Ks re: adoption of executive pre-arranged stock trading plans
8/2/11 8K re: results of 2nd quarter

Travelers TRV: 10/19/11 10Q & 8K re: results for Qtr ended 9/30/11
9/20/11 8K/A re: frequency of non-binding advisory shareholder votes
8/8/11 8K re: restatement of articles of incorporation to cancel Series B Conv. Pref. Stock

United Technologies UTX: 10/24/11 10Q & 10/19/11 8K re: results for Qtr ended 9/30/11
10/18/11 8K re: Pratt & Whitney & Rolls Royce partnership to develop next generation engines for mid-size aircraft
9/29/11 8K re: exec personnel changes
9/23/11 8K & Def. 14A Proxy Material re: acquisition of Goodrich

Verizon Communications Inc. VZ: 10/25/11 10Q & 10/21/11 8K re: results for Qtr ended 9/30/11
9/14/11 8K re: presentation to Merrill Lynch Media, Communication & Entertainment Conf.

WalMart WMT: 9/29/11 8K re: adoption of Deferred Com Plan
9/27/11 8K re: retirement of Vice-Chair Eduardo Castro-Wright
9/1/11 10Q for quarter ended 7/31/11
8/16/11 8K re: results for 3 and 6 months ended 7/31/11