Northeast Investment Management Grows Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Northeast Investment Management grew its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 340,292 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,722 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up approximately 1.1% of Northeast Investment Management’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Northeast Investment Management’s holdings in Walmart were worth $23,041,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. ICW Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,436,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Rossmore Private Capital boosted its stake in Walmart by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 20,504 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,232,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,377 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,370,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Landmark Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Walmart by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Landmark Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,055 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,112,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, MinichMacGregor Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Walmart by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. MinichMacGregor Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,063 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT traded down $0.03 on Wednesday, hitting $76.10. 9,806,516 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,415,627. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $70.02 and its 200 day moving average is $64.36. The company has a market capitalization of $612.11 billion, a PE ratio of 32.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.50. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.85 and a 1-year high of $76.45. 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 (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.61 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on WMT. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Walmart from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Walmart from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.64.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, Director S Robson Walton sold 933,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.92, for a total value of $60,570,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 642,016,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,679,718,386.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.85, for a total transaction of $877,406.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 658,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,031,755.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director S Robson Walton sold 933,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.92, for a total value of $60,570,360.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 642,016,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,679,718,386.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,265,089 shares of company stock valued at $482,716,014 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.