Violich Capital Management Inc. Increases Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Violich Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,175 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the quarter. Violich Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,064,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. AHL Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 192.1% in the first quarter. AHL Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,000 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,444,000 after purchasing an additional 15,785 shares in the last quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 1st quarter worth $270,000. Commerce Bank grew its holdings in Walmart by 189.4% during the 1st quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 917,625 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $55,213,000 after acquiring an additional 600,521 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 290.7% in the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 270,065 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $16,250,000 after purchasing an additional 200,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 189.4% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 643,848 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,740,000 after buying an additional 421,366 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:WMT opened at $81.31 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $49.85 and a 52 week high of $81.82. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $77.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $653.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.61 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.61, for a total transaction of $2,056,445.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,931,301 shares in the company, valued at approximately $277,589,163.61. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total transaction of $209,607,941.31. Following the sale, the insider now owns 630,501,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,781,873,820.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.61, for a total transaction of $2,056,445.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,931,301 shares in the company, valued at $277,589,163.61. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,267,901. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on WMT shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Redburn Atlantic raised Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.96.

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.