Calton & Associates Inc. Boosts Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Calton & Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 15.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,737 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 627 shares during the period. Calton & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $285,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WMT. Northwest Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 199.3% in the first quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 440 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Able Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT opened at $67.74 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $544.87 billion, a PE ratio of 28.99, a PEG ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.52. 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 $64.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.29. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.39, for a total transaction of $1,991,790.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,960,402 shares in the company, valued at $270,851,892.78. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 8,791 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.00, for a total transaction of $597,788.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 94,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,420,220. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.39, for a total transaction of $1,991,790.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,960,402 shares in the company, valued at $270,851,892.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 14,502,762 shares of company stock worth $951,475,618. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on WMT. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $64.33 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the 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.