Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Stake Lifted by AHL Investment Management Inc.

AHL Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 192.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 24,000 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 15,785 shares during the quarter. AHL Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,444,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 137,214,807 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $21,944,764,000 after buying an additional 751,713 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 24,087,268 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,852,277,000 after acquiring an additional 426,388 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,674,652,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,235,920 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,190,194,000 after acquiring an additional 2,150,351 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Walmart by 0.6% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,011,647 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,081,120,000 after purchasing an additional 78,981 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.03, for a total value of $1,748,313.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,018,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $241,239,559.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director S Robson Walton sold 3,540,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.55, for a total value of $228,523,137.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 648,504,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,860,933,910.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.03, for a total value of $1,748,313.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,018,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $241,239,559.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,451,722 shares of company stock valued at $947,990,915. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Trading Up 1.3 %

Walmart stock opened at $68.30 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.80 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 $69.04. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $63.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.05. The stock has a market cap of $549.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.52.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.08. The company 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on Walmart from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. TD Cowen boosted 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Three research 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.97.

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.