Optas LLC Boosts Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Optas LLC increased its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 195.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,586 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,653 shares during the quarter. Optas LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $878,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 73,360 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $11,731,000 after acquiring an additional 8,747 shares in the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Walmart by 39.3% in the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 47,367 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,575,000 after purchasing an additional 13,357 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 1.0% during the third quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 12,778 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,044,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Legacy Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 30.7% during the 3rd quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 2,155 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $345,000 after buying an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,823 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Barclays boosted their price target on Walmart from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Walmart from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Walmart from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Walmart from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.41.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 8,791 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.00, for a total value of $597,788.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 94,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,420,220. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.03, for a total value of $1,748,313.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,018,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $241,239,559.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP David Chojnowski sold 8,791 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.00, for a total value of $597,788.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 94,415 shares in the company, valued at $6,420,220. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,499,762 shares of company stock valued at $951,294,838 over the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $67.48 on Tuesday. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $49.85 and a 12-month high of $69.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $542.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.50. 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 50 day moving average of $64.07 and a 200 day moving average of $59.41.

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

Walmart 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.