DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. Increases Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. grew its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 187.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,652 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,728 shares during the quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $160,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. raised its holdings in Walmart by 203.5% in the 1st quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. now owns 50,344 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,029,000 after purchasing an additional 33,758 shares in the last quarter. &PARTNERS increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 308.6% in the 1st quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 85,265 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,136,000 after acquiring an additional 64,396 shares in the last quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 206.3% in the 1st quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. now owns 10,021 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $607,000 after acquiring an additional 6,749 shares in the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 225.9% in the 1st quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 31,314 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,884,000 after acquiring an additional 21,706 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GSG Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 197.7% in the 1st quarter. GSG Advisors LLC now owns 3,813 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 2,532 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock opened at $67.91 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $49.85 and a one year high of $68.55. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $63.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $546.24 billion, a PE ratio of 29.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.52.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $161.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $159.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.85, for a total transaction of $877,406.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 658,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,031,755.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related 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 transaction of $1,760,545.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,047,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $244,687,515.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.85, for a total transaction of $877,406.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 658,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,031,755.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,493,971 shares of company stock valued at $950,549,592. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the subject of several research reports. HSBC increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. 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. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 20th. Three equities 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 data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.