Gold Investment Management Ltd. Boosts Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Gold Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 200.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,573 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 33,079 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for 1.2% of Gold Investment Management Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Gold Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,983,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 86.0% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 560 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Walmart by 4.1% during the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,751 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,080,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the period. RNC Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Appleton Partners Inc. MA lifted its position in Walmart by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA now owns 22,878 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,607,000 after purchasing an additional 761 shares during the period. Finally, Chemung Canal Trust Co. lifted its position in Walmart by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 45,315 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,144,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WMT. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $63.33 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $81.00 price target on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.83.

Walmart Stock Performance

Walmart stock opened at $69.79 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $65.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.40. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $49.85 and a twelve month high of $70.45. 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 market cap of $561.36 billion, a PE ratio of 29.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.50.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $161.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $159.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 25,578 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 390,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,367,350.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.20, for a total transaction of $895,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 645,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,025,828. The transaction was disclosed in a 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 dated 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 directly owns 390,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,367,350.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,525,340 shares of company stock valued at $953,023,399. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

About Walmart

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.