Occidental Asset Management LLC Raises Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Occidental Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 225.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 59,922 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 41,492 shares during the period. Occidental Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $3,606,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 1,636 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. ICW Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,436,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 5,806 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $915,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Rossmore Private Capital increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 20,504 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,232,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,377 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,370,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $67.71 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $64.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.35. The stock 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.85 and a 1-year high of $69.04. 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 (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $161.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $159.57 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The company’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 524,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,613,179.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 8,791 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.00, for a total transaction of $597,788.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 94,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,420,220. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 524,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,613,179.38. 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 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WMT. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Walmart from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $66.00 to $81.00 in a research note on Monday, June 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart currently 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.