Second Half Financial Partners LLC Buys New Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Second Half Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 7,691 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $621,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Oxbow Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 45.0% during the 3rd quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 28,453 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,298,000 after buying an additional 8,834 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 21.9% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 587,001 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $47,400,000 after acquiring an additional 105,430 shares in the last quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 213.5% during the first quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC now owns 29,613 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,782,000 after acquiring an additional 20,167 shares during the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its position in shares of Walmart by 201.0% during the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 2,092 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 1,397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Walmart by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $503,517,000 after acquiring an additional 809,352 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $84.08 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $81.43 and its 200-day moving average is $73.15. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $675.86 billion, a PE ratio of 43.80, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.51. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.85 and a 1-year high of $85.79.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.96, for a total transaction of $1,088,850.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 593,040 shares in the company, valued at $49,198,598.40. This represents a 2.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total transaction of $246,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 378,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,054,909.80. This represents a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the topic of several research reports. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $92.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Walmart from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.71.

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.