Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Stock Position Increased by Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 159.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 595,653 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 365,914 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $40,332,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 199.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,745,334 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $24,774,717,000 after acquiring an additional 274,229,968 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 181.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,861,234 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,421,342,000 after acquiring an additional 36,625,314 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 183.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 29,172,985 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,755,339,000 after acquiring an additional 18,865,484 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 187.4% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 13,303,200 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $800,454,000 after buying an additional 8,674,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 284.0% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,122,273 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $669,227,000 after buying an additional 8,225,552 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total value of $313,228,886.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total value of $166,607.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 459,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,113,904.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total value of $313,228,886.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,369,039 shares of company stock worth $959,826,083. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Walmart from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Walmart from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.99.

Walmart Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of WMT opened at $78.05 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $49.85 and a 12-month high of $81.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $627.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.35, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $73.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.65.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The firm had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.61 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Company 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.