MPS Loria Financial Planners LLC Boosts Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

MPS Loria Financial Planners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 139.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,670 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,304 shares during the quarter. MPS Loria Financial Planners LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $341,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Northwest Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Walmart by 199.3% during the first quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 440 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the period. Partnership Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Able Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $67.48 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $64.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.41. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $69.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $542.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.88, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.50. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $159.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.49 earnings per share. Walmart’s quarterly 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 year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 3,633,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.80, for a total value of $242,737,840.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 636,898,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,544,840,574.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 3,633,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.80, for a total transaction of $242,737,840.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 636,898,811 shares in the company, valued at $42,544,840,574.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total transaction of $177,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 521,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,816,896.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,499,762 shares of company stock valued at $951,294,838 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Walmart from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. StockNews.com cut shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.41.

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.