Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Purchased by Franklin Parlapiano Turner & Welch LLC

Franklin Parlapiano Turner & Welch LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 200.0% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 9,630 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 6,420 shares during the period. Franklin Parlapiano Turner & Welch LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $579,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meridian Management Co. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 200.2% in the 1st quarter. Meridian Management Co. now owns 140,880 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,477,000 after purchasing an additional 93,955 shares during the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 200.0% in the 1st quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 13,938 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $839,000 after purchasing an additional 9,292 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 214.5% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 140,904 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,478,000 after purchasing an additional 96,103 shares during the last quarter. Patron Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 242.1% in the 1st quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 13,697 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $824,000 after purchasing an additional 9,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 193.3% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 320,991 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $19,314,000 after purchasing an additional 211,537 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on WMT shares. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Walmart from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $81.00 in a report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.83.

Walmart Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $70.40 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $566.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.09, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $65.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.85 and a 1-year high of $70.44.

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

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 25,578 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.58, for a total value of $1,728,561.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 390,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,367,350.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 25,578 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.58, for a total transaction of $1,728,561.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 390,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,367,350.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,018,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $241,239,559.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 14,525,340 shares of company stock worth $953,023,399. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.