Private Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Private Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,244 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the quarter. Private Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $354,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,103 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $656,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC raised its position in Walmart by 0.8% during the third quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 18,459 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,952,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 10.0% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 12,507 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,000,000 after purchasing an additional 1,140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Personal CFO Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 5.4% in the third quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 5,946 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $951,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.26, for a total transaction of $180,780.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 524,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,613,179.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.26, for a total transaction of $180,780.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 524,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,613,179.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 3,633,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.80, for a total transaction of $242,737,840.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 636,898,811 shares in the company, valued at $42,544,840,574.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,493,971 shares of company stock valued at $950,549,592. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WMT. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Walmart from $63.33 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Walmart from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Three research 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.97.

Walmart Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE WMT opened at $67.91 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $68.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $546.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.06, a PEG ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $63.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

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

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.