GSA Capital Partners LLP Buys New Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 24,100 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,450,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $3,674,652,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Walmart by 183.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 29,172,985 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,755,339,000 after purchasing an additional 18,865,484 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Walmart by 212.6% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 14,035,473 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $844,514,000 after purchasing an additional 9,544,958 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 184.1% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 12,567,533 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $756,188,000 after purchasing an additional 8,144,393 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 199.3% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 7,639,240 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $459,653,000 after purchasing an additional 5,087,119 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $70.40 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $566.27 billion, a PE ratio of 30.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.50. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $70.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.34.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $161.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $159.57 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 1,132,123 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.02, for a total transaction 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 1,132,123 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 25,578 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.58, for a total transaction of $1,728,561.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 390,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,367,350.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,525,340 shares of company stock worth $953,023,399 over the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the topic of several research reports. DA Davidson raised their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.83.

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.