St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 198.6% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 39,683 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,392 shares during the period. Walmart comprises about 1.1% of St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,388,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Partnership Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Able Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Tidemark LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total value of $177,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 521,613 shares in the company, valued at $30,816,896.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other 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 value of $877,406.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 658,665 shares in the company, valued at $44,031,755.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total transaction of $177,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 521,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,816,896.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 14,451,722 shares of company stock worth $947,990,915. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $68.30 on Thursday. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $49.85 and a 52-week high of $69.04. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $63.56 and a 200-day moving average of $59.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $549.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.23, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $161.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $159.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Roth Mkm upped 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. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.