Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Raises Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd lifted its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 212.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 380,395 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 258,592 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for about 0.6% of Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Walmart were worth $22,888,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Seven Mile Advisory increased its position in shares of Walmart by 1.6% during the third quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 3,953 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $632,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings 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% during the fourth quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,436,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 5,806 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $915,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Advisory LLC boosted 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.81, for a total transaction of $798,131.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.82, for a total transaction of $1,944,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 144,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,386,389.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.81, for a total value of $798,131.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 645,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,253,888.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,493,971 shares of company stock valued at $950,549,592 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price target 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. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. StockNews.com cut shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 20th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.97.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $67.91 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $63.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $546.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.52. 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 fifty-two week low of $49.85 and a fifty-two week high of $68.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $161.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $159.57 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 2.88%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

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.