Opes Wealth Management LLC Purchases Shares of 3,312 Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Opes Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 3,312 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position 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 buying an additional 274,229,968 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 181.0% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,861,234 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,421,342,000 after acquiring an additional 36,625,314 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $3,674,652,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in 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 valued at $1,755,339,000 after buying an additional 18,865,484 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in Walmart by 187.4% during the first 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 in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen raised their target price on Walmart from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on Walmart from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.99.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $76.68 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $616.37 billion, a PE ratio of 32.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $71.45 and its 200-day moving average is $65.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.80. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $49.85 and a 52 week high of $77.81.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.61 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.39, for a total value of $1,991,790.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,960,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $270,851,892.78. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,398 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total value of $166,661.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 463,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,239,034.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.39, for a total value of $1,991,790.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,960,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $270,851,892.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,144,237 shares of company stock worth $730,497,016. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Company 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.