Saratoga Research & Investment Management Grows Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Saratoga Research & Investment Management increased its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 186.8% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 784,747 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 511,086 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up 2.1% of Saratoga Research & Investment Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Saratoga Research & Investment Management’s holdings in Walmart were worth $47,218,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AHL Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 192.1% in the 1st quarter. AHL Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,000 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,444,000 after acquiring an additional 15,785 shares during the last quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. raised its stake in Walmart by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. now owns 7,816 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,232,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Walmart by 38.9% during the fourth quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,501 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Motco grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Motco now owns 58,301 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $9,191,000 after buying an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sovereign Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 204.3% in the 1st quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,515 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $392,000 after buying an additional 4,374 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn sold 30,000 shares of the company’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 owns 144,807 shares in the company, valued at $9,386,389.74. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now directly owns 144,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,386,389.74. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.39, for a total value of $1,991,790.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,960,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $270,851,892.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,499,762 shares of company stock worth $951,294,838. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Walmart stock 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 company has a market cap of $544.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.98, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $64.07 and its 200-day moving average price 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 results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $161.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $159.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on WMT. Bank of America lifted their price target on Walmart from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, HSBC lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.97.

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.