Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC Grows Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 252.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 62,186 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 44,542 shares during the quarter. Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $3,742,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 183.0% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 29,172,985 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,755,339,000 after purchasing an additional 18,865,484 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $3,674,652,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Walmart by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,235,920 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,190,194,000 after buying an additional 2,150,351 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in Walmart by 212.6% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 14,035,473 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $844,514,000 after buying an additional 9,544,958 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in Walmart by 187.4% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 13,303,200 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $800,454,000 after buying an additional 8,674,100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total transaction of $177,240.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 521,613 shares in the company, valued at $30,816,896.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total transaction of $177,240.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 521,613 shares in the company, valued at $30,816,896.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.03, for a total transaction of $1,748,313.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,018,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $241,239,559.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 14,527,738 shares of company stock worth $953,190,060. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE WMT traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $70.75. 11,665,526 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,789,591. The company has a 50 day moving average of $66.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $569.08 billion, a PE ratio of 30.28, a PEG ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.50. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $71.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $161.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $159.57 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 20th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Walmart from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $81.00 price target for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.09.

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.