Private Advisor Group LLC Acquires 421,366 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 189.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 643,848 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 421,366 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $38,740,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Partnership Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Able Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Tidemark LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WMT shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Walmart from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Walmart from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Walmart from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Walmart from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.47.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 3,960,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $270,851,892.78. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,960,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $270,851,892.78. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 1,132,123 shares of the business’s 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 owns 647,371,888 shares in the company, valued at $42,092,120,157.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,525,340 shares of company stock valued at $953,023,399 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 2.6 %

WMT traded up $1.80 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $70.04. 21,586,100 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,917,258. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $64.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.90. The company has a market cap of $563.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.50. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $49.85 and a one year high of $70.15.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $161.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $159.57 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 2.88%. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

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.