First Financial Bank Trust Division Boosts Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

First Financial Bank Trust Division lifted its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 150.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,423 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,471 shares during the quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,650,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. General Partner Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 254.9% during the first quarter. General Partner Inc. now owns 20,892 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,257,000 after purchasing an additional 15,005 shares during the period. BancFirst Trust & Investment Management grew its position in Walmart by 127.9% in the 1st quarter. BancFirst Trust & Investment Management now owns 7,584 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $456,000 after buying an additional 4,256 shares during the last quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 199.7% during the 1st quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA now owns 68,575 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,126,000 after purchasing an additional 45,697 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 209.1% during the 1st quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 8,483 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $510,000 after buying an additional 5,739 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Adirondack Trust Co. raised its stake in Walmart by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 8,230 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,297,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 521,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,816,896.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Walmart news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 1,244,347 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.63, for a total transaction of $82,910,840.61. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 633,518,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,211,325,061.93. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 521,613 shares in the company, valued at $30,816,896.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 14,493,971 shares of company stock worth $950,549,592. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 0.6 %

WMT stock traded up $0.39 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $67.81. 3,445,457 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,077,396. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $62.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.34. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $49.85 and a 1 year high of $67.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $545.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.08. Walmart had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The firm had revenue of $161.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $159.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.49 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WMT. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Walmart from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Walmart from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Walmart from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. StockNews.com downgraded Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Walmart from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.94.

Walmart 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.