LRI Investments LLC Invests $1.60 Million in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 26,528 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,603,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AHL Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 192.1% during the 1st quarter. AHL Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,000 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,444,000 after acquiring an additional 15,785 shares during the last quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. now owns 7,816 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,232,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the period. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Walmart by 38.9% in the 4th quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,501 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 1st quarter worth approximately $270,000. Finally, Commerce Bank grew its holdings in Walmart by 189.4% during the 1st quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 917,625 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $55,213,000 after acquiring an additional 600,521 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Walmart from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on Walmart from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Walmart from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.60.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 3,633,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.80, for a total transaction of $242,737,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 636,898,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,544,840,574.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 3,633,800 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.80, for a total transaction of $242,737,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 636,898,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,544,840,574.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total value of $177,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 521,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,816,896.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 14,540,863 shares of company stock valued at $954,424,817. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock traded down $0.24 on Friday, reaching $69.78. 16,789,306 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,217,879. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $561.28 billion, a PE ratio of 29.86, a PEG ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a 50 day moving average of $67.81 and a 200 day moving average of $61.81. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $49.85 and a 52 week high of $71.33.

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

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.