Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT – Free Report) by 12.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,605 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,424 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $3,333,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. My Personal CFO LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. JDM Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 105.3% during the 4th quarter. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 387.8% during the 1st quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 200 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. 31.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insider Activity
In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 4,375 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.00, for a total transaction of $660,625.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 286,617 shares in the company, valued at $43,279,167. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Walmart news, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 2,149,275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.97, for a total value of $330,923,871.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 235,440,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,250,844,765.17. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 4,375 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.00, for a total value of $660,625.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 286,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,279,167. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,208,665 shares of company stock worth $1,421,177,843. 46.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Analyst Ratings Changes
WMT has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on Walmart from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Friday, May 19th. 1-800-FLOWERS.COM reiterated a “maintains” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 19th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, April 5th. 92 Resources reiterated a “maintains” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, May 22nd. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Walmart from $176.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $166.91.
Walmart Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $157.11 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $120.06 and a 52-week high of $159.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $423.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.77, a PEG ratio of 4.63 and a beta of 0.50. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $152.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $146.95.
Walmart (NYSE:WMT – Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 18th. The retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.15. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.30% and a net margin of 1.82%. The business had revenue of $152.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $147.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.30 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 6.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Walmart Profile
Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, and other units worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam’s Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com, walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, and samsclub.com; and mobile commerce applications.
Further Reading
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