Austin Asset Management Co Inc Raises Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Austin Asset Management Co Inc raised its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,307 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 195 shares during the period. Austin Asset Management Co Inc’s holdings in Walmart were worth $562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Delaney Dennis R acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the second quarter valued at approximately $200,000. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 2.3% in the second quarter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 94,503 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,399,000 after purchasing an additional 2,134 shares during the last quarter. Mittelman Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the second quarter valued at approximately $227,000. Garner Asset Management Corp grew its position in shares of Walmart by 10.0% in the second quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 45,432 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,076,000 after purchasing an additional 4,133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lokken Investment Group LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 7.8% in the second quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC now owns 24,940 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,689,000 after purchasing an additional 1,804 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total value of $166,607.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 459,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,113,904.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total value of $166,607.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 459,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,113,904.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,398 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total transaction of $166,661.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 463,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,239,034.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,205,423 shares of company stock valued at $788,845,411. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Walmart stock opened at $79.03 on Thursday. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $49.85 and a 12-month high of $81.02. The company has a market capitalization of $635.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $73.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.57.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The firm had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.61 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the topic of several research reports. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.99.

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.