Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Bought by Ballentine Partners LLC

Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 7.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,276 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 5,712 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $5,300,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WMT. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Northwest Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Walmart by 199.3% in the first quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 440 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 138.3% in the second quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. Cultivar Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Partnership Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT stock traded down $0.32 during trading on Friday, hitting $76.64. 14,548,588 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,411,770. The stock has a market capitalization of $616.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.51. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $49.85 and a 52 week high of $77.81. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $71.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Roth Mkm upped their target price on Walmart from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. HSBC upped their price target on Walmart from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.99.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 40,974 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.79, for a total transaction of $2,736,653.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 635,512,658 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,445,890,427.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 3,633,800 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.80, for a total value of $242,737,840.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 636,898,811 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,544,840,574.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 40,974 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.79, for a total transaction of $2,736,653.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 635,512,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,445,890,427.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,144,237 shares of company stock worth $730,497,016. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.