Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Buys 329,516 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 201.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 492,758 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 329,516 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up 0.5% of Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $29,649,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $3,674,652,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 183.0% during the first 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 purchasing an additional 18,865,484 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 212.6% during the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 14,035,473 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $844,514,000 after purchasing an additional 9,544,958 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 184.1% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 12,567,533 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $756,188,000 after purchasing an additional 8,144,393 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 199.3% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 7,639,240 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $459,653,000 after purchasing an additional 5,087,119 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.03, for a total value of $1,748,313.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,018,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $241,239,559.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.03, for a total transaction of $1,748,313.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,018,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $241,239,559.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total transaction of $177,240.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 521,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,816,896.04. 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 in the last three months. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Down 0.8 %

WMT opened at $69.24 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $65.95 and a 200 day moving average of $60.63. The company has a market cap of $556.93 billion, a PE ratio of 29.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.50. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $70.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $159.57 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the topic of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $64.33 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.