Exchange Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Exchange Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 208.7% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,235 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,215 shares during the period. Exchange Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $375,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Legacy Advisors LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 30.7% during the third quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 2,155 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $345,000 after buying an additional 506 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in Walmart by 14.6% during the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 890,858 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $142,475,000 after buying an additional 113,445 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in Walmart by 6.0% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 590,441 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $94,432,000 after buying an additional 33,676 shares during the period. Cito Capital Group LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 0.6% during the third quarter. Cito Capital Group LLC now owns 17,300 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,767,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Baker Avenue Asset Management LP boosted its position in Walmart by 26.0% during the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 5,324 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $852,000 after buying an additional 1,099 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WMT shares. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. HSBC increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.47.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $68.24 on Thursday. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $49.85 and a fifty-two week high of $69.04. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.65. The company has a market capitalization of $548.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.50. 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 earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $161.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $159.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 1,132,123 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now 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 available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total transaction of $177,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 521,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,816,896.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 1,132,123 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $42,092,120,157.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,525,340 shares of company stock valued at $953,023,399 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.