Sunbelt Securities Inc. Raises Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 198.2% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 40,373 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,832 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,429,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 18,457 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,952,000 after acquiring an additional 751 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 81,457 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $13,027,000 after buying an additional 7,672 shares in the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 55.4% during the 3rd quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 3,238 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $526,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank purchased a new position in Walmart in the third quarter worth $324,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 42,101 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,733,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.85, for a total transaction of $877,406.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 658,665 shares in the company, valued at $44,031,755.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.82, for a total value of $1,944,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 144,807 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,386,389.74. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.85, for a total value of $877,406.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 658,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,031,755.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,451,722 shares of company stock valued at $947,990,915 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on WMT shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $63.33 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Bank of America raised their target price on Walmart from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Walmart from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.97.

Walmart Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $67.88 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $49.85 and a twelve month high of $69.04. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $63.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.11. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $546.00 billion, a PE ratio of 29.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.52.

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

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.