Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Boosts Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 189.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,147,368 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 750,572 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP’s holdings in Walmart were worth $69,037,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwest Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Walmart by 199.3% in the first quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 440 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the period. Partnership Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Able Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock traded down $0.07 on Friday, hitting $70.75. 11,665,526 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,789,591. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $569.08 billion, a PE ratio of 30.28, a PEG ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.50. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $49.85 and a 1 year high of $71.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $161.50 billion for 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 was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on WMT. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $64.33 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their target price 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.09.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,398 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total transaction of $166,661.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 463,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,239,034.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 3,633,800 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.80, for a total transaction of $242,737,840.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 636,898,811 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,544,840,574.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,398 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total transaction of $166,661.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 463,871 shares in the company, valued at $32,239,034.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,527,738 shares of company stock worth $953,190,060. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.