New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Purchases 9,300 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 12.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 82,293 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,300 shares during the period. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,952,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Partnership Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Able Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $63.33 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Walmart from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. HSBC raised their price target on Walmart from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.41.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.39, for a total transaction of $1,991,790.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,960,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $270,851,892.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total value of $177,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 521,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,816,896.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.39, for a total transaction of $1,991,790.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,960,402 shares in the company, valued at $270,851,892.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,499,762 shares of company stock valued at $951,294,838 in the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walmart Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE WMT opened at $67.48 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $542.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.88, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.50. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.85 and a 1-year high of $69.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a 50 day moving average of $64.07 and a 200-day moving average of $59.41.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $159.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Walmart

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.