Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 15.9% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 300,548 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 41,272 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $20,350,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aveo Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,330 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $683,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,972 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,045,000 after buying an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 58.3% during the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 6,631 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,033,000 after buying an additional 2,443 shares during the last quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 126.7% during the 4th quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 3,155 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $497,000 after acquiring an additional 1,763 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $145,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.39, for a total value of $1,991,790.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,960,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $270,851,892.78. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.39, for a total transaction of $1,991,790.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,960,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $270,851,892.78. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP David Chojnowski sold 8,791 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.00, for a total transaction of $597,788.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 94,415 shares in the company, valued at $6,420,220. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,203,360 shares of company stock valued at $788,678,803. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $80.60 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market cap of $647.88 billion, a PE ratio of 34.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.51. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $49.85 and a fifty-two week high of $80.68.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its 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. The company had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.61 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WMT shares. StockNews.com raised Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, HSBC lifted their target price on Walmart from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.99.

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.