Norris Perne & French LLP MI Grows Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Norris Perne & French LLP MI raised its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 239.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,257 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 7,238 shares during the period. Norris Perne & French LLP MI’s holdings in Walmart were worth $617,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. AHL Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 holdings in 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 holdings in 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 holdings in 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. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 204.3% during the 1st quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,515 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $392,000 after buying an additional 4,374 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $67.71 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $544.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $69.04.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. Walmart’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WMT. UBS Group lifted their price target on Walmart from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Walmart from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $81.00 in a report on Monday, June 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Walmart from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on Walmart from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.97.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.20, for a total value of $895,125.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 645,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,025,828. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.20, for a total value 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 approximately $44,025,828. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.39, for a total value of $1,991,790.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,960,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $270,851,892.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,502,762 shares of company stock valued at $951,475,618. 45.58% of the stock is 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.