Founders Financial Securities LLC Raises Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Founders Financial Securities LLC grew its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 184.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,135 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,844 shares during the period. Founders Financial Securities LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,934,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WMT. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 73,360 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $11,731,000 after buying an additional 8,747 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,011,647 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,081,120,000 after buying an additional 78,981 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 39.3% during the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 47,367 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,575,000 after buying an additional 13,357 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in Walmart by 23.6% during the 3rd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,378,442 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $220,454,000 after buying an additional 262,750 shares during the period. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 12,778 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,044,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 144,807 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,386,389.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.20, for a total value of $895,125.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 645,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,025,828. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 144,807 shares in the company, valued at $9,386,389.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 14,499,762 shares of company stock worth $951,294,838. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Stock Down 0.3 %

WMT stock opened at $67.71 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $49.85 and a 52 week high of $69.04. The company 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 0.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $64.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $161.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $159.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. Walmart’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on WMT. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Walmart from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $81.00 in a report on Monday, June 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.97.

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.