Eagle Capital Management LLC Invests $222,000 in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Eagle Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,687 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $222,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 137,214,807 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $21,944,764,000 after buying an additional 751,713 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in Walmart by 1.8% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 24,087,268 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,852,277,000 after purchasing an additional 426,388 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,674,652,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,235,920 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,190,194,000 after purchasing an additional 2,150,351 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,550,281 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,505,602,000 after buying an additional 435,253 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Bank of America raised their target price on Walmart from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. UBS Group upped their price target on Walmart from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, HSBC lifted their price objective on Walmart from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.47.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $68.24 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $64.40 and its 200 day moving average is $59.65. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $49.85 and a 12-month high of $69.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market cap of $548.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.50.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $161.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $159.57 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,018,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $241,239,559.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director S Robson Walton sold 3,540,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.55, for a total value of $228,523,137.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 648,504,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,860,933,910.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.03, for a total value of $1,748,313.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,018,650 shares in the company, valued at $241,239,559.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,525,340 shares of company stock valued at $953,023,399. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.