Verity & Verity LLC Has $1.03 Million Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Verity & Verity LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 46.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,205 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 4,835 shares during the period. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,030,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Northwest Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Walmart by 199.3% during the first quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 440 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 138.3% in the second 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 Walmart in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Able Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $81.27 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $653.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.78, a P/E/G ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a 50 day moving average of $74.86 and a 200 day moving average of $67.85. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $81.60.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. HSBC raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 459,558 shares in the company, valued at $37,113,904.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.61, for a total transaction of $2,056,445.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,931,301 shares in the company, valued at $277,589,163.61. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total value of $166,607.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 459,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,113,904.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,334,670 shares of company stock worth $958,025,027. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.