Wellington Shields & Co. LLC Grows Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Wellington Shields & Co. LLC raised its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 200.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,284 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,527 shares during the quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,943,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Northwest Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Walmart by 199.3% in the first quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 440 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the period. Partnership Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Able Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE:WMT opened at $69.79 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $561.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.87, a P/E/G ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.80. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $49.85 and a fifty-two week high of $70.45. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.40.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $161.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $159.57 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 21.57%. Walmart’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. Analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $64.33 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $81.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 3,633,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.80, for a total transaction of $242,737,840.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 636,898,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,544,840,574.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 8,791 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.00, for a total transaction of $597,788.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now 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 accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 3,633,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.80, for a total transaction of $242,737,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 636,898,811 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,544,840,574.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In 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 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.