First Bank & Trust Acquires 6,024 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

First Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 200.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,036 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 6,024 shares during the quarter. First Bank & Trust’s holdings in Walmart were worth $544,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Northwest Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Walmart by 199.3% in the 1st quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 440 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Able Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on WMT. Roth Mkm upped their target price on Walmart from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Walmart from $64.33 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.97.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.39, for a total transaction of $1,991,790.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,960,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $270,851,892.78. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 8,791 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.00, for a total value of $597,788.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 94,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,420,220. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 90 days, insiders have sold 14,499,762 shares of company stock valued at $951,294,838. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $67.71 on Monday. 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. The company 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 has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its 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. The company had revenue of $161.50 billion for 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

Walmart 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.