Independence Bank of Kentucky Has $1.58 Million Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 249.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,233 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 18,717 shares during the quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,578,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Partnership Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Able Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Tidemark LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Walmart from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $81.00 in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.97.

Insider Activity

In other 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 value of $180,780.00. Following the completion of 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other 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 value of $180,780.00. Following the completion of 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 1,132,123 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.02, for a total transaction of $73,610,637.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 647,371,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,092,120,157.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,502,762 shares of company stock valued at $951,475,618 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT opened at $67.71 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $64.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.80. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $49.85 and a 52 week high of $69.04. The firm has a market capitalization 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 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 firm had revenue of $161.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $159.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

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.