West Michigan Advisors LLC Grows Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

West Michigan Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 46,870 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,101 shares during the period. Walmart makes up approximately 1.1% of West Michigan Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. West Michigan Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $3,785,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Investment Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,182 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $499,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Professional Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Walmart by 0.6% in the third quarter. Professional Financial Advisors LLC now owns 21,839 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,763,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 2.1% during the third quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 6,677 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $539,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co of the South lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 25,647 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,071,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LVZ Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. LVZ Inc. now owns 7,824 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $530,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.51.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT opened at $83.05 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $667.58 billion, a PE ratio of 43.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The business’s 50-day moving average is $78.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.08. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $49.85 and a 1 year high of $83.34.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The firm had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.19, for a total value of $207,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 387,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,787,946.35. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total transaction of $313,228,886.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.19, for a total value of $207,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 387,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,787,946.35. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,295,088 shares of company stock valued at $955,284,831. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.