Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Purchased by Artemis Investment Management LLP

Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 201.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,044,736 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 697,603 shares during the quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP’s holdings in Walmart were worth $62,829,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,674,652,000. BlueSpruce Investments LP acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $568,419,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 15,371.4% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,511,225 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $553,545,000 after acquiring an additional 3,488,530 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Walmart by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,235,920 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,190,194,000 after purchasing an additional 2,150,351 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Walmart by 207.3% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,279,715 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $137,170,000 after purchasing an additional 1,537,828 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WMT shares. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Walmart from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price objective on Walmart from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.97.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.20, for a total transaction of $895,125.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 645,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,025,828. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 524,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,613,179.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.20, for a total transaction of $895,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 645,540 shares in the company, valued at $44,025,828. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,502,762 shares of company stock valued at $951,475,618. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $67.74 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $544.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.52. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $69.04. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $64.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.29.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $161.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $159.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current fiscal 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.