First Affirmative Financial Network Makes New Investment in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

First Affirmative Financial Network bought a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 9,479 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $765,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WMT. AHL Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Walmart by 192.1% during the 1st quarter. AHL Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,000 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,444,000 after acquiring an additional 15,785 shares during the period. Liberty Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Walmart in the 1st quarter valued at $270,000. Commerce Bank increased its stake in Walmart by 189.4% in the 1st quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 917,625 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $55,213,000 after buying an additional 600,521 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its position in Walmart by 290.7% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 270,065 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $16,250,000 after buying an additional 200,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in Walmart by 189.4% during the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 643,848 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,740,000 after buying an additional 421,366 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WMT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Walmart from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.04, for a total transaction of $1,063,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 606,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,123,611.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.04, for a total value of $1,063,650.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 606,165 shares in the company, valued at $49,123,611.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.61, for a total value of $2,056,445.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,931,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $277,589,163.61. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,337,670 shares of company stock worth $958,267,937. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $80.09 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $49.85 and a 1 year high of $81.60. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.82. The company has a market capitalization of $643.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.64, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.51. 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 (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.61 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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.