Benin Management CORP Boosts Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Benin Management CORP grew its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 201.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,027 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,037 shares during the quarter. Benin Management CORP’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,085,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwest Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Walmart by 199.3% in the first quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 440 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Able Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $68.30 on Thursday. 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 twelve month low of $49.85 and a twelve month high of $69.04. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $63.56 and a 200 day moving average of $59.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $549.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.23, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.52.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $161.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $159.57 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 2.88%. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Walmart from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Walmart from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. KeyCorp boosted their target price 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. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.97.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 3,633,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.80, for a total transaction of $242,737,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 636,898,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,544,840,574.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.26, for a total transaction of $180,780.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 524,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,613,179.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 3,633,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.80, for a total value of $242,737,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 636,898,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,544,840,574.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 14,451,722 shares of company stock worth $947,990,915. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.