RiverFront Investment Group LLC Boosts Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

RiverFront Investment Group LLC boosted its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 5.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 516,256 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 26,258 shares during the period. RiverFront Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $34,956,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Northwest Capital Management Inc lifted 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 in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 138.3% in the second quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Cultivar Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Able Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total transaction of $313,228,886.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,334,670 shares of company stock worth $958,025,027. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WMT. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $81.62.

Walmart Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $81.27 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $49.85 and a 12-month high of $81.60. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.85. The firm has a market cap of $653.27 billion, a PE ratio of 34.78, a P/E/G ratio of 4.00 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, beating 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 firm had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.