JPL Wealth Management LLC Grows Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

JPL Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 45,054 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,082 shares during the period. Walmart comprises approximately 1.5% of JPL Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. JPL Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $3,051,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Walmart by 199.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,745,334 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $24,774,717,000 after buying an additional 274,229,968 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Walmart by 181.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,861,234 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,421,342,000 after buying an additional 36,625,314 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,674,652,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 183.0% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 29,172,985 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,755,339,000 after buying an additional 18,865,484 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 187.4% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 13,303,200 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $800,454,000 after buying an additional 8,674,100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the topic of several research reports. KeyCorp raised their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays lifted their target price on Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 target price (up previously from $81.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Walmart from $63.33 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 25,578 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.48, for a total value of $1,674,847.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 415,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,222,851.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 25,578 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.48, for a total value of $1,674,847.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 415,743 shares in the company, valued at $27,222,851.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.19, for a total value of $207,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 387,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,787,946.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,332,089 shares of company stock valued at $422,145,654. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE:WMT traded up $0.81 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $77.23. The company had a trading volume of 23,229,975 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,739,604. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.85 and a 1-year high of $77.47. The firm has a market cap of $621.20 billion, a PE ratio of 33.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.50. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $70.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.22.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The company had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.61 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Company 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.