Gradient Investments LLC Increases Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Gradient Investments LLC grew its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 402,600 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,225 shares during the quarter. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $27,260,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 3.9% during the 4th 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 increased its position in Walmart by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,436,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Rossmore Private Capital raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 20,504 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,232,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,377 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,370,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Landmark Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Landmark Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,055 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,112,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT traded up $0.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $73.45. 19,872,144 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,647,650. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $68.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.32. The firm has a market cap of $590.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.39, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.50. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $49.85 and a 52-week high of $74.44.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The company had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.61 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.82, for a total value of $1,944,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 144,807 shares in the company, valued at $9,386,389.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.82, for a total transaction of $1,944,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 144,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,386,389.74. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 1,132,123 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.02, for a total transaction of $73,610,637.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 647,371,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,092,120,157.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,000,613 shares of company stock valued at $725,932,010 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $63.33 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Roth Mkm increased their price target on Walmart from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Three research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.79.

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.