Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Stock Holdings Boosted by Apollon Financial LLC

Apollon Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 24.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,236 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,042 shares during the quarter. Apollon Financial LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 199.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,745,334 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $24,774,717,000 after acquiring an additional 274,229,968 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Walmart by 181.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,861,234 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,421,342,000 after purchasing an additional 36,625,314 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,674,652,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 183.0% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 212.6% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 14,035,473 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $844,514,000 after acquiring an additional 9,544,958 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Walmart from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen increased their price target on Walmart from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 1,132,123 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.02, for a total value of $73,610,637.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 647,371,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,092,120,157.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 1,132,123 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.02, for a total transaction of $73,610,637.46. Following the sale, the insider now owns 647,371,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,092,120,157.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.61, for a total transaction of $2,056,445.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,931,301 shares in the company, valued at approximately $277,589,163.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,000,613 shares of company stock valued at $725,932,010. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Walmart Trading Up 0.4 %

WMT stock traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $73.72. The stock had a trading volume of 13,298,702 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,620,494. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $49.85 and a twelve month high of $74.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market cap of $592.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.50, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.56.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal 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.