Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Bought by Howard Financial Services LTD.

Howard Financial Services LTD. lifted its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 196.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,158 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,409 shares during the period. Howard Financial Services LTD.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $491,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. AHL Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 192.1% in the first quarter. AHL Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,000 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,444,000 after purchasing an additional 15,785 shares during the period. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. now owns 7,816 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,232,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 38.9% in the fourth quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,501 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the period. Motco boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Motco now owns 58,301 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $9,191,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares during the period. Finally, Sovereign Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 204.3% in the first quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,515 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $392,000 after purchasing an additional 4,374 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. HSBC increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $63.33 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.97.

Walmart Stock Down 0.2 %

WMT stock opened at $67.74 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $49.85 and a 52 week high of $69.04. The company has a market capitalization of $544.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $64.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.29. 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 (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The company had revenue of $161.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $159.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. Walmart’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.20, for a total value of $895,125.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 645,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,025,828. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 8,791 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.00, for a total value of $597,788.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 94,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,420,220. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.20, for a total transaction of $895,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 645,540 shares in the company, valued at $44,025,828. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,502,762 shares of company stock worth $951,475,618 in the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Company 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.