STAR Financial Bank Raises Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

STAR Financial Bank raised its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 198.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,159 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,086 shares during the quarter. STAR Financial Bank’s holdings in Walmart were worth $551,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,755,339,000 after buying an additional 18,865,484 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $3,674,652,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 11.9% during the 4th 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 buying an additional 2,150,351 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Walmart by 212.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 184.1% in 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 in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 20th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Roth Mkm upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $81.00 price target on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.83.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $69.79 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $49.85 and a 52 week high of $70.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $561.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.87, a PEG ratio of 4.06 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. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $65.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.40.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its 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. Walmart had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The company had revenue of $161.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $159.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 25,578 shares of the firm’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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 390,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,367,350.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 25,578 shares of the firm’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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 390,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,367,350.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.39, for a total transaction of $1,991,790.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,960,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $270,851,892.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,525,340 shares of company stock worth $953,023,399. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.