Rise Advisors LLC Increases Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Rise Advisors LLC grew its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 484.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,360 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,614 shares during the quarter. Rise Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $262,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC acquired a new position in Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $732,000. CI Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 32,762 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,240,000 after buying an additional 2,139 shares during the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 528,384 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $84,504,000 after buying an additional 10,523 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at $209,000. Finally, Provence Wealth Management Group grew its position in shares of Walmart by 25.4% in the 3rd quarter. Provence Wealth Management Group now owns 5,354 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $856,000 after buying an additional 1,084 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.45, for a total value of $1,760,545.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,047,767 shares in the company, valued at $244,687,515.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.81, for a total value of $798,131.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 645,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,253,888.77. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.45, for a total transaction of $1,760,545.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,047,767 shares in the company, valued at $244,687,515.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,493,971 shares of company stock valued at $950,549,592. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on WMT. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Walmart from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $81.00 in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Walmart from $63.33 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.94.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $67.85 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.80. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $49.85 and a one year high of $67.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $545.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.93, a PEG ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s fifty day moving average is $62.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.52.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $159.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 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.