Auxier Asset Management Has $9.99 Million Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Auxier Asset Management reduced its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.2% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 147,474 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 324 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises about 1.6% of Auxier Asset Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Auxier Asset Management’s holdings in Walmart were worth $9,985,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Aveo Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,330 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $683,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,972 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,045,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 58.3% during the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 6,631 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,033,000 after buying an additional 2,443 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Walmart by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 39,055 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,157,000 after buying an additional 2,607 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 8,791 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.00, for a total transaction of $597,788.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 94,415 shares in the company, valued at $6,420,220. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total value of $166,607.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 459,558 shares in the company, valued at $37,113,904.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP David Chojnowski sold 8,791 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.00, for a total transaction of $597,788.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 94,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,420,220. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,369,039 shares of company stock worth $959,826,083. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on WMT. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Walmart from $64.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 price objective (up from $81.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.99.

Walmart Stock Up 1.3 %

WMT stock opened at $79.06 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.85 and a 1-year high of $81.02. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $635.92 billion, a PE ratio of 33.79, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.61 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

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.