Hobart Private Capital LLC Increases Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Hobart Private Capital LLC increased its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 191.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,901 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 3,876 shares during the quarter. Hobart Private Capital LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $355,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.9% in the 4th 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 lifted its position in Walmart by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,436,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 1.1% during the fourth 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 period. Gateway Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 4.1% in the third quarter. Gateway Advisory LLC now owns 1,643 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $263,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rossmore Private Capital raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 20,504 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,232,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE:WMT opened at $68.30 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $549.37 billion, a PE ratio of 29.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.52. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $49.85 and a 52 week high of $69.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $63.56 and a 200-day moving average of $59.05.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com downgraded Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. KeyCorp raised their target price on Walmart from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.97.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.26, for a total value of $180,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 524,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,613,179.38. 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 Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.03, for a total transaction of $1,748,313.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,018,650 shares in the company, valued at $241,239,559.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.26, for a total transaction of $180,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 524,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,613,179.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,451,722 shares of company stock worth $947,990,915 in the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.