Griffin Asset Management Inc. Raises Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 207.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 164,625 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 111,069 shares during the period. Walmart comprises 1.2% of Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $9,905,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. 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 worth $1,444,000 after acquiring an additional 15,785 shares during the period. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. grew its holdings in Walmart by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. now owns 7,816 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,232,000 after buying an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 38.9% during the fourth quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,501 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Motco lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Motco now owns 58,301 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $9,191,000 after buying an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sovereign Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 204.3% during the first quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,515 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $392,000 after acquiring an additional 4,374 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Trading Down 0.3 %

WMT opened at $67.71 on Friday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $64.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.35. The company has a market capitalization of $544.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.98, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.52. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $49.85 and a 52 week high of $69.04.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $161.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $159.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.82, for a total transaction of $1,944,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 144,807 shares in the company, valued at $9,386,389.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.26, for a total value of $180,780.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 524,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,613,179.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.82, for a total transaction of $1,944,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 144,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,386,389.74. 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. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WMT. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Walmart from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Roth Mkm raised their price target on Walmart from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Walmart from $63.33 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Walmart from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.