Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) is Keene & Associates Inc.’s Largest Position

Keene & Associates Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 69,410 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,404 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises approximately 3.8% of Keene & Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Keene & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,700,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. AHL Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 192.1% in the 1st quarter. AHL Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,000 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,444,000 after buying an additional 15,785 shares in the last quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 38.9% in the fourth quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,501 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Walmart in the first quarter valued at $270,000. Commerce Bank raised its position in Walmart by 189.4% during the first quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 917,625 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $55,213,000 after purchasing an additional 600,521 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in Walmart by 290.7% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 270,065 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $16,250,000 after purchasing an additional 200,947 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WMT. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Two equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.99.

Walmart Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $80.60 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.80. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $49.85 and a 52-week high of $80.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $647.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $72.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.18.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total transaction of $313,228,886.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 25,578 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.58, for a total value of $1,728,561.24. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 390,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,367,350.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total value of $313,228,886.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,203,360 shares of company stock valued at $788,678,803 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.