&Partners Buys 64,396 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

&Partners increased its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 308.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 85,265 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 64,396 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up approximately 0.7% of &Partners’ portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. &Partners’ holdings in Walmart were worth $5,136,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,103 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $656,000 after buying an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 12,507 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,000,000 after buying an additional 1,140 shares in the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 5,946 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $951,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Walmart by 34.6% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 58,839 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $9,410,000 after purchasing an additional 15,115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EPG Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 27.9% during the 3rd quarter. EPG Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,348 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $375,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.45, for a total transaction of $1,760,545.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,047,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $244,687,515.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.81, for a total value of $798,131.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 645,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,253,888.77. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.45, for a total transaction of $1,760,545.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,047,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $244,687,515.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,493,971 shares of company stock valued at $950,549,592. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $64.33 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.97.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $67.91 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $546.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $63.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $68.55.

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

Walmart 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.