Independence Bank of Kentucky Buys 18,717 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 249.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,233 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,717 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,578,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Norges Bank bought a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,674,652,000. BlueSpruce Investments LP bought a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $568,419,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 15,371.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 3,488,530 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Walmart by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,235,920 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,190,194,000 after purchasing an additional 2,150,351 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 207.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,537,828 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:WMT opened at $67.71 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $544.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.98, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.35. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $69.04.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $161.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $159.57 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.03, for a total transaction of $1,748,313.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,018,650 shares in the company, valued at $241,239,559.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.82, for a total transaction of $1,944,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 144,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,386,389.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.03, for a total transaction of $1,748,313.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,018,650 shares in the company, valued at $241,239,559.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,502,762 shares of company stock worth $951,475,618 over the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. HSBC raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.97.

Walmart Company 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.