Captrust Financial Advisors Boosts Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 156.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 968,579 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 591,611 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors’ holdings in Walmart were worth $58,279,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 199.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,745,334 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $24,774,717,000 after purchasing an additional 274,229,968 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in 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 valued at $3,421,342,000 after buying an additional 36,625,314 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $3,674,652,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position 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 during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Walmart by 212.6% during the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 14,035,473 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $844,514,000 after buying an additional 9,544,958 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $63.33 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $81.00 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.23, for a total transaction of $1,899,758.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,989,526 shares in the company, valued at approximately $260,236,780.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.60, for a total value of $926,625.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 632,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,648,499. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.23, for a total transaction of $1,899,758.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,989,526 shares in the company, valued at $260,236,780.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 14,540,863 shares of company stock worth $954,424,817. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Walmart stock traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $69.44. The company had a trading volume of 5,243,933 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,245,600. The company’s 50-day moving average is $67.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.98. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $49.85 and a twelve month high of $71.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The company has a market cap of $558.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.50.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $159.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.