Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC Buys 1,047 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 15.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,644 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,047 shares during the period. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $518,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WMT. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Northwest Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 199.3% during the first quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 440 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 138.3% in the 2nd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Cultivar Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Able Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of WMT stock opened at $79.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $635.92 billion, a PE ratio of 33.79, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.51. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $49.85 and a 52-week high of $81.02.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.99.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total value of $313,228,886.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total value of $313,228,886.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total value of $166,607.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 459,558 shares in the company, valued at $37,113,904.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,369,039 shares of company stock valued at $959,826,083 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart 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.