Virtu Financial LLC Purchases Shares of 5,926 Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,926 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $934,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Seven Mile Advisory lifted its holdings in Walmart by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 3,953 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $632,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 1,636 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,436,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 5,806 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $915,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 4.1% during the third quarter. Gateway Advisory LLC now owns 1,643 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock traded up $0.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $67.02. The company had a trading volume of 12,590,146 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,134,117. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.19. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $49.85 and a 1 year high of $67.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The company has a market capitalization of $539.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.52.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $161.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $159.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.26, for a total transaction of $180,780.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 524,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,613,179.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.81, for a total value of $798,131.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 645,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,253,888.77. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.26, for a total transaction of $180,780.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 524,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,613,179.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,493,971 shares of company stock valued at $950,549,592 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Walmart from $63.33 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Walmart from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $66.00 to $81.00 in a report on Monday, June 10th. Roth Mkm raised their price target on Walmart from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Walmart from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. 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, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.94.

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.