Cliff Asness: Education, Papers, Wife, Net Worth

3. Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT)

In Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT), AQR Capital raised its position by 13% during the second quarter to 9.37 million shares valued at $708.80 million. Similar to the previous two holdings, Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT) represents one of the oldest positions in AQR Capital Management’s equity portfolio, as the fund has held shares of the retailer since 2004. As consumers are becoming more and more attracted to online shopping, Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT) is one of the few companies that is capable on taking on Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), which is currently the leader in online retail, with a market share of 43%. Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT) has been investing heavily in the eCommerce industry lately and has even acquired a number of startups, including Jet.com, for which it paid $3.3 billion. However, even with these efforts, Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT)’s online sales are estimated at around 3% of the total. However, it’s important to remember that Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) has recently strengthened its online and physical presence with the acquisition of Whole Foods, so Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT) should also think big regarding new acquisitions if it wants to be a match. Nevertheless, among the funds in our database, Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT) saw a jump in popularity between April and June, as the number of investors bullish on the stock jumped by 13 to 61.