Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Acquired by GoalVest Advisory LLC

GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 214.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,025 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,078 shares during the period. GoalVest Advisory LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,506,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Northwest Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Able Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. Raymond James increased their price target on Walmart from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Bank of America increased their price target on Walmart from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Walmart from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Walmart from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.97.

Walmart Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $68.30 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $63.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $49.85 and a 1 year high of $69.04. The company has a market capitalization of $549.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.52.

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

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.85, for a total transaction of $877,406.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 658,665 shares in the company, valued at $44,031,755.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.85, for a total value of $877,406.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 658,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,031,755.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 1,244,347 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.63, for a total value of $82,910,840.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 633,518,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,211,325,061.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,451,722 shares of company stock worth $947,990,915. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.