Central Bank & Trust Co. Raises Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Central Bank & Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 225.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,314 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,706 shares during the period. Central Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,884,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 137,214,807 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $21,944,764,000 after buying an additional 751,713 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Walmart by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 24,087,268 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,852,277,000 after buying an additional 426,388 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,674,652,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Walmart by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,235,920 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,190,194,000 after purchasing an additional 2,150,351 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,011,647 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,081,120,000 after purchasing an additional 78,981 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.81, for a total transaction of $798,131.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 645,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,253,888.77. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.81, for a total transaction of $798,131.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 645,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,253,888.77. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 3,633,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,493,971 shares of company stock valued at $950,549,592. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock opened at $67.91 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $63.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.80. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $49.85 and a 12-month high of $68.55. The stock has a market capitalization 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 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 earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $161.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $159.57 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 20th. Roth Mkm raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.97.

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.