Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc Purchases 3,148 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc boosted its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 200.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,722 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,148 shares during the period. Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc’s holdings in Walmart were worth $284,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of WMT. Seven Mile Advisory grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.6% in the third quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 3,953 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $632,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 1,636 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,436,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of Walmart by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 5,806 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $915,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 4.1% during the third quarter. Gateway Advisory LLC now owns 1,643 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock opened at $68.03 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $49.85 and a 1 year high of $68.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $547.20 billion, a PE ratio of 29.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.58.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.08. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 2.88%. The company had revenue of $161.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $159.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on WMT. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $63.33 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. HSBC raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Walmart from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their target price on Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.97.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 3,633,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.80, for a total transaction of $242,737,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 636,898,811 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,544,840,574.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.81, for a total value of $798,131.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 645,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,253,888.77. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 3,633,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.80, for a total value of $242,737,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 636,898,811 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,544,840,574.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,493,971 shares of company stock worth $950,549,592. 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.