Montecito Bank & Trust Raises Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Montecito Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 192.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,108 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,178 shares during the period. Montecito Bank & Trust’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,571,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Seven Mile Advisory grew its stake in Walmart by 1.6% during the third quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 3,953 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $632,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 1,636 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,436,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Bill Few Associates Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 5,806 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $915,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Advisory LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Gateway Advisory LLC now owns 1,643 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $263,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:WMT opened at $68.03 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $63.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.58. The stock has a market cap of $547.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $68.13.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $161.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $159.57 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 2.88%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Walmart from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 20th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $63.33 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Walmart from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.97.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 1,132,123 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 647,371,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,092,120,157.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 1,244,347 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.63, for a total transaction of $82,910,840.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 633,518,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,211,325,061.93. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 1,132,123 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was 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 directly owns 647,371,888 shares in the company, valued at $42,092,120,157.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,493,971 shares of company stock worth $950,549,592. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.