Claro Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Claro Advisors LLC raised its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 207.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,512 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,960 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,137,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 137,214,807 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $21,944,764,000 after acquiring an additional 751,713 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 24,087,268 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,852,277,000 after acquiring an additional 426,388 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $3,674,652,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,235,920 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,190,194,000 after acquiring an additional 2,150,351 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,550,281 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,505,602,000 after acquiring an additional 435,253 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Up 0.9 %

WMT stock opened at $68.07 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $49.85 and a twelve month 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 market capitalization of $547.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.13, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.53.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $161.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $159.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on WMT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $64.33 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Jefferies Financial Group increased 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. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.03, for a total transaction of $1,748,313.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,018,650 shares in the company, valued at $241,239,559.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.03, for a total transaction of $1,748,313.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,018,650 shares in the company, valued at $241,239,559.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total value of $177,240.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 521,613 shares in the company, valued at $30,816,896.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,525,340 shares of company stock worth $953,023,399 over the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.