Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Stock Position Lifted by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 24.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 95,509 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,666 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for 1.2% of Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $6,467,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Landmark Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Landmark Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,055 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,112,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Syverson Strege & Co increased its stake in Walmart by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 3,377 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $532,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Amussen Hunsaker Associates LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Amussen Hunsaker Associates LLC now owns 15,979 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,519,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. increased its stake in Walmart by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. now owns 4,009 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $632,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,166 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $975,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Trading Down 1.2 %

Walmart stock opened at $78.05 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $73.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.80. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $49.85 and a one year high of $81.02. The stock has a market cap of $627.80 billion, a PE ratio of 33.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The firm had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.56 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.61 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.39, for a total value of $1,991,790.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,960,402 shares in the company, valued at $270,851,892.78. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.39, for a total transaction of $1,991,790.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,960,402 shares in the company, valued at $270,851,892.78. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value of $209,607,941.31. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 630,501,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,781,873,820.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,369,039 shares of company stock worth $959,826,083 over the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on Walmart from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Walmart from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Walmart from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.99.

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.