CRA Financial Services LLC Purchases 347 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

CRA Financial Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 5,153 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $810,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sageworth Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 2,414.3% during the 1st quarter. Sageworth Trust Co now owns 176 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 58.3% in the first quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 190 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 387.8% in the first quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 200 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSC Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the first quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors own 33.18% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $164.64 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $443.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $128.07 and a 52 week high of $165.85. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $159.34 and a 200 day moving average of $152.70.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 17th. The retailer reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.15. Walmart had a net margin of 2.23% and a return on equity of 21.47%. The firm had revenue of $161.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.77 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 6.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on WMT shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $163.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 14th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Walmart from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Walmart from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $159.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 18th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $162.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.51.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.48, for a total transaction of $159,480.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 170,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,228,817.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.48, for a total transaction of $159,480.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 170,735 shares in the company, valued at $27,228,817.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 473,370 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.75, for a total transaction of $73,727,377.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 241,479,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,610,376,989.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 6,493,773 shares of company stock worth $1,005,802,298. Insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Profile

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, and other units 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, walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, and samsclub.com; and mobile commerce applications.