Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Acquired by Appleton Partners Inc. MA

Appleton Partners Inc. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 199.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,575 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 45,697 shares during the period. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,126,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Partnership Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Able Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Tidemark LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Walmart stock traded up $0.26 on Tuesday, hitting $67.68. 2,835,683 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,072,184. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $62.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $49.85 and a 12-month high of $67.85. The company has a market cap of $544.39 billion, a PE ratio of 28.88, a PEG ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.08. Walmart had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The business had revenue of $161.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $159.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. Walmart’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.26, for a total value of $180,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 524,613 shares in the company, valued at $31,613,179.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.26, for a total value of $180,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 524,613 shares in the company, valued at $31,613,179.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 1,244,347 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.63, for a total transaction of $82,910,840.61. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 633,518,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,211,325,061.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 14,493,971 shares of company stock worth $950,549,592. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WMT shares. Barclays boosted their target price on Walmart from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Walmart from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $81.00 in a report on Monday, June 10th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Walmart from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.94.

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.