Bright Rock Capital Management LLC Buys 106,000 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Bright Rock Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 200.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 159,000 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 106,000 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for about 2.0% of Bright Rock Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Bright Rock Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $9,567,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 195.4% during the first quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,303 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $439,000 after acquiring an additional 4,831 shares during the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 195.3% in the first quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 332,907 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $20,089,000 after buying an additional 220,168 shares during the last quarter. Unique Wealth LLC increased its position in Walmart by 189.6% in the first quarter. Unique Wealth LLC now owns 4,996 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $301,000 after buying an additional 3,271 shares during the last quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd increased its position in Walmart by 188.2% in the first quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd now owns 12,117 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $729,000 after buying an additional 7,913 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank increased its position in Walmart by 201.4% in the first quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 45,071 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,712,000 after buying an additional 30,119 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $67.91. The stock had a trading volume of 25,891,526 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,038,200. The firm has a market capitalization of $546.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $63.23 and its 200 day moving average is $58.75. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $49.85 and a one year high of $68.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.08. Walmart had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The company had revenue of $161.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $159.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial raised their price target on Walmart from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on Walmart from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Walmart from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $81.00 in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Walmart from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.97.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.81, for a total transaction of $798,131.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 645,517 shares in the company, valued at $39,253,888.77. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.45, for a total transaction of $1,760,545.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,047,767 shares in the company, valued at $244,687,515.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.81, for a total transaction of $798,131.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 645,517 shares in the company, valued at $39,253,888.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,493,971 shares of company stock worth $950,549,592 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Profile

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, other units, and eCommerce 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.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, PhonePe and other sites; and mobile commerce applications.