Valeo Financial Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 215.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 142,960 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 97,575 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $8,602,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AHL Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 192.1% during the 1st quarter. AHL Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,000 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,444,000 after buying an additional 15,785 shares during the last quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. now owns 7,816 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,232,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Walmart by 38.9% in the fourth quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,501 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Motco boosted its stake in Walmart by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Motco now owns 58,301 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $9,191,000 after acquiring an additional 726 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sovereign Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Walmart by 204.3% during the 1st quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,515 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $392,000 after acquiring an additional 4,374 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $68.24 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $548.89 billion, a PE ratio of 29.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.50. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $64.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.71. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $49.85 and a 52-week high of $69.04.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $159.57 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 3,633,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.80, for a total transaction of $242,737,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 636,898,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,544,840,574.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 25,578 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.58, for a total value of $1,728,561.24. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 390,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,367,350.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 3,633,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.80, for a total value of $242,737,840.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 636,898,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,544,840,574.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,525,340 shares of company stock valued at $953,023,399. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Walmart from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Walmart from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $66.00 to $81.00 in a report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Walmart from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.47.

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.