Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 57.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,335,740 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 485,569 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $90,443,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Aveo Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,330 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $683,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. 9258 Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,972 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,045,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 58.3% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 6,631 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,033,000 after purchasing an additional 2,443 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 3,710 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $585,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Finally, Rossmore Private Capital lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 20,504 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,232,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Walmart stock traded down $0.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $76.64. 14,548,588 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,411,770. The company has a market cap of $616.05 billion, a PE ratio of 32.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $71.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.38. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $49.85 and a one year high of $77.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 earned $0.61 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 8,791 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.00, for a total transaction of $597,788.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 94,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,420,220. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.39, for a total transaction of $1,991,790.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,960,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $270,851,892.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP David Chojnowski sold 8,791 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.00, for a total transaction of $597,788.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 94,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,420,220. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 10,144,237 shares of company stock worth $730,497,016. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on WMT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Walmart from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.99.

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.