Means Investment CO. Inc. Increases Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Means Investment CO. Inc. lifted its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 69,830 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 590 shares during the quarter. Means Investment CO. Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $5,639,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. New Century Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 14,200 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,147,000 after purchasing an additional 1,222 shares during the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 18.8% during the third quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,824 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $955,000 after buying an additional 1,867 shares during the last quarter. Veracity Capital LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 14,240 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,150,000 after buying an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC now owns 39,281 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,172,000 after buying an additional 765 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waypoint Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. Waypoint Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,713 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $300,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total transaction of $313,228,886.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value of $209,607,941.31. Following the sale, the insider now owns 630,501,148 shares in the company, valued at $48,781,873,820.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,267,901. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $81.31 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $653.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $77.90 and a 200 day moving average of $69.61. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $49.85 and a 52 week high of $81.82.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.61 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on WMT shares. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Walmart from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. One 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, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $82.96.

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.