Tradewinds Capital Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Tradewinds Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 740.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,697 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 4,138 shares during the period. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $283,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake 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 valued at $21,944,764,000 after acquiring an additional 751,713 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Walmart by 1.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,674,652,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 11.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 184.1% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 12,567,533 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $756,188,000 after purchasing an additional 8,144,393 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.82, for a total value of $1,944,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 144,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,386,389.74. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total transaction of $177,240.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 521,613 shares in the company, valued at $30,816,896.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn sold 30,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 144,807 shares in the company, valued at $9,386,389.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 14,525,340 shares of company stock valued at $953,023,399. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Walmart from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Walmart from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Walmart from $64.33 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.47.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $68.24 on Friday. 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’s fifty day moving average is $64.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.71. 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 $548.89 billion, a PE ratio of 29.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.50.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $161.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $159.57 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

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.