15,897 Shares in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Purchased by Puzo Michael J

Puzo Michael J bought a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 15,897 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $957,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Partnership Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Able Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Tidemark LLC bought a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Walmart from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.60.

Walmart Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE WMT traded down $0.56 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $70.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 13,774,656 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,346,598. The firm has a market capitalization of $563.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.04, a PEG ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.50. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $67.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $49.85 and a twelve month high of $71.33.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $161.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $159.57 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,398 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total value of $166,661.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 463,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,239,034.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 3,633,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.80, for a total transaction of $242,737,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 636,898,811 shares in the company, valued at $42,544,840,574.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,398 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total transaction of $166,661.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 463,871 shares in the company, valued at $32,239,034.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,498,614 shares of company stock worth $951,441,747 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Walmart

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.