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Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s stock slumped 4.2% in premarket trade Thursday, after the discount retail giant missed fiscal fourth-quarter sales expectations, offsetting a profit beat and a raised dividend. Operating income for the latest quarter fell to $6.6 billion from $7.9 billion a year ago. Earnings per share from continuing operations were $1.43, while adjusted EPS came to $1.49 to beat the FactSet consensus of $1.46. Revenue fell to $129.7 billion from $131.6 billion, missing the FactSet consensus of $130.5 billion. International sales were $32.7 billion, below the FactSet consensus of $33.29 billion. Same-store sales at Walmart U.S. increased 0.6% from a year ago, but missed the FactSet consensus of 0.9% growth. “We are seeing momentum in our Walmart U.S. business as we continue to lap positive comps, and our international business is healthy and growing,” said Chief Executive Doug McMillon. The company increased its annual dividend to $2 a share from $1.96 a share. The stock has gained 8.5% over the past three months through Wednesday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has lost 7.2%.

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Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Thursday it is raising its annual dividend to $2.00 a share from $1.96. The dividend will be paid in four quarterly installments of 50 cents a share. The first will be paid April 4 to shareholders of record as of March 11. Shares were trading down 4% in premarket trade, as the company also reported fourth-quarter earnings. Shares are down 23% in the last 12 months, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has fallen 8.7%.

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The American Petroleum Institute on Wednesday said U.S. crude-oil inventories fell by 3.3 million barrels in the latest week, according to news reports. The data from API, an industry trade group, is watched for clues to weekly data from the Energy Information Administration due Thursday morning. Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal produced an average forecast for a 3.1 million barrel rise in oil inventories.

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Marvell Technology Group Ltd. shares rose in the extended session Wednesday after the semiconductor company said it had settled a patent infringement lawsuit with Carnegie Mellon University. Marvell shares, which had been halted after hours, rose 4.6% to $9.73. The company said it settled with Carnegie Mellon for $750 million with no ongoing royalty payments. Marvell noted the university had been awarded $1.54 billion back in 2012, and that as of Jan. 30, it had more than $2.3 billion in cash and short-term investments and $388 million in litigation reserves.

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Ingram Micro Inc. , an information-technology company based in Irvine, Calif., with a market capitalization of $4.4 billion, will be sold to China’s Tianjin Tianhai Investment Co. for $38.90 a share, the company said late Wednesday. Once the $6 billion deal is finalized, Ingram Micro will operate as a subsidiary of Tianjin Tianhai and become a part of the HNA Group but maintain its headquarters in Irvine. The company’s executive management team will also be retained with Alain Monié continuing as chief executive. Shares of Ingram Micro soared 24% in after-hours trading on the news. The purchase price is roughly 31% over the stock’s closing price of $29.65 on Wednesday.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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From:: Stock Market News