Everence Capital Management Inc. Acquires 84,600 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Everence Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 200.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 126,900 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 84,600 shares during the quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $7,636,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WMT. AHL Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 192.1% during the 1st quarter. AHL Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,000 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,444,000 after acquiring an additional 15,785 shares during the period. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. now owns 7,816 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,232,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the period. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 38.9% in the 4th quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,501 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 420 shares during the period. Liberty Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 1st quarter worth approximately $270,000. Finally, Commerce Bank raised its position in shares of Walmart by 189.4% in the 1st quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 917,625 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $55,213,000 after acquiring an additional 600,521 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE:WMT traded down $0.22 on Thursday, reaching $70.81. 670,756 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,396,676. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.95. The firm has a market cap of $569.56 billion, a PE ratio of 30.40, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.50. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $71.10.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.08. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 2.88%. The firm had revenue of $161.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $159.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. Citigroup increased their target price on Walmart from $63.33 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Walmart from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $81.00 in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Walmart from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total transaction of $177,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 521,613 shares in the company, valued at $30,816,896.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total value of $177,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 521,613 shares in the company, valued at $30,816,896.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 1,132,123 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.02, for a total value of $73,610,637.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 647,371,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,092,120,157.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,527,738 shares of company stock worth $953,190,060 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.