M. Kraus & Co Grows Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

M. Kraus & Co increased its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 201.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,018 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,022 shares during the quarter. M. Kraus & Co’s holdings in Walmart were worth $362,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Partnership Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Able Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Tidemark LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $67.91 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $49.85 and a twelve month high of $68.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $546.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.70. 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 (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $161.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $159.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Walmart from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on Walmart from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. DA Davidson raised their price target on Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Walmart from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Walmart from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.97.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.81, for a total value of $798,131.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 645,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,253,888.77. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.81, for a total transaction of $798,131.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 645,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,253,888.77. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.26, for a total value of $180,780.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 524,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,613,179.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,493,971 shares of company stock worth $950,549,592. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.