Holland Advisory Services Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Holland Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 201.2% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 7,032 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,697 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises approximately 0.5% of Holland Advisory Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Holland Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $423,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,674,652,000. BlueSpruce Investments LP purchased a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $568,419,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 15,371.4% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,511,225 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $553,545,000 after purchasing an additional 3,488,530 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Walmart by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,235,920 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,190,194,000 after purchasing an additional 2,150,351 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 14,035.2% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 1,274,428 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $200,914,000 after buying an additional 1,265,412 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE WMT opened at $67.91 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $49.85 and a one year high of $68.55. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.75. The firm has a market cap of $546.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.06, a PEG ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $161.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $159.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 645,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,253,888.77. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.45, for a total value of $1,760,545.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,047,767 shares in the company, valued at $244,687,515.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 645,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,253,888.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,493,971 shares of company stock valued at $950,549,592 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WMT. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Walmart from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Walmart from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Walmart from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Walmart from $64.33 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.97.

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.