Carret Asset Management LLC Purchases 84,866 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Carret Asset Management LLC raised its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 198.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 127,583 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 84,866 shares during the period. Walmart makes up approximately 0.9% of Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $7,677,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $3,674,652,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 184.1% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 12,567,533 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $756,188,000 after acquiring an additional 8,144,393 shares in the last quarter. BlueSpruce Investments LP acquired a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $568,419,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 15,371.4% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,511,225 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $553,545,000 after acquiring an additional 3,488,530 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 11.9% during the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 2,150,351 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 1,132,123 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.02, for a total value of $73,610,637.46. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 647,371,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,092,120,157.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 1,132,123 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.02, for a total value of $73,610,637.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 647,371,888 shares in the company, valued at $42,092,120,157.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was 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 owns 4,018,650 shares in the company, valued at $241,239,559.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,525,340 shares of company stock worth $953,023,399. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $68.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $548.89 billion, a PE ratio of 29.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.50. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $49.85 and a fifty-two week high of $69.04. The company has a fifty day moving average of $64.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.71.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 2.88%. The company had revenue of $161.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $159.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. 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 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on WMT shares. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Walmart from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Barclays boosted their price target on Walmart from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 20th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on Walmart from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.47.

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.