Bridges Investment Management Inc. Boosts Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Bridges Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 44.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 82,667 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 25,316 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $5,597,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Landmark Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Landmark Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,055 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,112,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Syverson Strege & Co raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 3,377 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $532,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Amussen Hunsaker Associates LLC raised its position in Walmart by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Amussen Hunsaker Associates LLC now owns 15,979 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,519,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. lifted its stake in Walmart by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. now owns 4,009 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $632,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,166 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $975,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $78.05 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $49.85 and a 1 year high of $81.02. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $73.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.65. The company has a market cap of $627.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.35, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

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

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 8,791 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.00, for a total value of $597,788.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 94,415 shares in the company, valued at $6,420,220. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 8,791 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.00, for a total value of $597,788.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 94,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,420,220. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,960,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $270,851,892.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,369,039 shares of company stock worth $959,826,083 over the last three months. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on WMT shares. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 price objective (up previously from $81.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 16th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $64.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.99.

About Walmart

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.