Criterion Capital Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Criterion Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 200.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,212 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 808 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $73,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $3,674,652,000. BlueSpruce Investments LP acquired a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $568,419,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 15,371.4% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,511,225 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $553,545,000 after acquiring an additional 3,488,530 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Walmart by 11.9% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 207.3% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,279,715 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $137,170,000 after purchasing an additional 1,537,828 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.20, for a total transaction of $895,125.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 645,540 shares in the company, valued at $44,025,828. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.26, for a total transaction of $180,780.00. Following the sale, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The shares were 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 owns 645,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,025,828. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 14,502,762 shares of company stock worth $951,475,618. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Down 0.3 %

WMT opened at $67.71 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $49.85 and a 52 week high of $69.04. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $64.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a market cap of $544.63 billion, a PE ratio of 28.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.52.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $159.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Walmart from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Walmart from $63.33 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. HSBC upped their price target on Walmart from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Walmart from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.97.

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.