Searcy Financial Services Inc. ADV Purchases 2,555 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Searcy Financial Services Inc. ADV raised its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 200.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,832 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,555 shares during the period. Walmart comprises 0.1% of Searcy Financial Services Inc. ADV’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Searcy Financial Services Inc. ADV’s holdings in Walmart were worth $231,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AHL Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 192.1% in the 1st quarter. AHL Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,000 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,444,000 after purchasing an additional 15,785 shares during the period. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. now owns 7,816 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,232,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 38.9% in the 4th quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,501 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the period. Motco lifted its position in Walmart by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Motco now owns 58,301 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $9,191,000 after acquiring an additional 726 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sovereign Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Walmart by 204.3% during the first quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,515 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $392,000 after acquiring an additional 4,374 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $67.71 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $64.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.35. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $49.85 and a 1 year high of $69.04. The company has a market capitalization of $544.63 billion, a PE ratio of 28.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced 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 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. HSBC increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.97.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 1,132,123 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.02, for a total transaction of $73,610,637.46. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 647,371,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,092,120,157.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $270,851,892.78. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 1,132,123 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.02, for a total transaction of $73,610,637.46. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 647,371,888 shares in the company, valued at $42,092,120,157.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 14,502,762 shares of company stock valued at $951,475,618. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.