Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC Increases Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 201.8% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,417 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 5,628 shares during the period. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $506,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in Walmart by 13.5% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 73,360 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $11,731,000 after buying an additional 8,747 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,011,647 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,081,120,000 after acquiring an additional 78,981 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart by 39.3% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 47,367 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,575,000 after acquiring an additional 13,357 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its stake in Walmart by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,378,442 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $220,454,000 after acquiring an additional 262,750 shares during the period. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 1.0% during the third quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 12,778 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,044,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $67.71 on Monday. 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 stock has a market cap of $544.63 billion, a PE ratio of 28.98, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.50. The company’s fifty day moving average is $64.07 and its 200 day moving average is $59.41. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $49.85 and a 52 week high of $69.04.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released 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. 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Walmart from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. HSBC boosted their price objective on Walmart from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on Walmart from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.97.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total value of $177,240.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 521,613 shares in the company, valued at $30,816,896.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.03, for a total value of $1,748,313.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,018,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $241,239,559.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total value of $177,240.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 521,613 shares in the company, valued at $30,816,896.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,499,762 shares of company stock worth $951,294,838. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.