Iyo Bank Ltd. Boosts Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Iyo Bank Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 200.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 127,620 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 85,080 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up about 3.1% of Iyo Bank Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Iyo Bank Ltd.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $7,679,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WMT. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 26.0% during the 3rd quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 5,324 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $852,000 after buying an additional 1,099 shares during the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 30.6% during the third quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 9,414 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,506,000 after acquiring an additional 2,206 shares during the last quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Walmart by 5.8% in the third quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 35,987 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,755,000 after purchasing an additional 1,974 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 58,333 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $9,329,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holderness Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Holderness Investments Co. now owns 7,201 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,152,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 8,791 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.00, for a total transaction of $597,788.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 94,415 shares in the company, valued at $6,420,220. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.03, for a total transaction of $1,748,313.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,018,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $241,239,559.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP David Chojnowski sold 8,791 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $6,420,220. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,525,340 shares of company stock worth $953,023,399 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WMT. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $63.33 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Walmart from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Three investment 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.47.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $68.24 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $548.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.50. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $49.85 and a 52-week high of $69.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $64.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.71.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $161.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $159.57 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. Research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.