Why Facebook Inc (FB), Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT) and Three Other Stocks Are in Spotlight Today

Potential M&A at Hewlett Packard Enterprise 

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co (NYSE:HPE) is trending after Reuters reported that the company is in talks with the private equity firm Thoma Bravo LLC over a potential sale of its software segment. Although Hewlett Packard Enterprise previously received offers for as much as $7.5 billion for the unit according to some sources, the company hopes to garner a sum between $8 to $10 billion from Thoma Bravo. Hewlett Packard Enterprise is considering selling the unit to focus more on its core storage, networking, and data center competencies. At the end of June, 63 investors tracked by our team owned shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co (NYSE:HPE), compared to 51 funds a quarter earlier.

Major Banks Consider Asking For Stress Test Changes

Although they may not be contemplating indirectly participating in a potential court case, Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) and Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) stand to benefit if the Federal Reserve’s annual stress tests are changed. According to The Wall Street Journal, industry advisers and bank trade groups are considering legally challenging the stress tests due to the test’s opacity. If the Fed has less power to limit dividend disbursements or share buybacks, Bank of America and Citigroup could potentially return more capital to its shareholders and their shares will be higher in the long run. Of the around 750 elite funds we track, 102 funds owned $5.28 billion worth of Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC)’s stock, which accounted for 3.90% of the float, while 97 funds held shares of Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) valued at $8.5 billion in aggregate (representing 6.80% of the float) on June 30.

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