Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC Grows Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 200.0% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 15,972 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,648 shares during the period. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $961,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Meritas Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 225.5% in the 1st quarter. Meritas Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,526 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $453,000 after purchasing an additional 5,214 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust lifted its position in Walmart by 200.0% in the first quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 9,036 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $544,000 after buying an additional 6,024 shares during the last quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 197.1% during the first quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 13,632 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $820,000 after buying an additional 9,043 shares during the period. Saratoga Research & Investment Management boosted its stake in Walmart by 186.8% during the first quarter. Saratoga Research & Investment Management now owns 784,747 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $47,218,000 after buying an additional 511,086 shares during the period. Finally, Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY increased its position in Walmart by 173.5% during the first quarter. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY now owns 4,791 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $288,000 after acquiring an additional 3,039 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $67.71 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $64.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.41. The stock has a market cap of $544.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.50. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $49.85 and a one year high of $69.04.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Walmart from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.97.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 3,633,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.80, for a total transaction of $242,737,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 636,898,811 shares in the company, valued at $42,544,840,574.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 3,633,800 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.80, for a total transaction of $242,737,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 636,898,811 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,544,840,574.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director S Robson Walton sold 3,540,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.55, for a total value of $228,523,137.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 648,504,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,860,933,910.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,499,762 shares of company stock worth $951,294,838 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.