First Dallas Securities Inc. Boosts Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

First Dallas Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 41.7% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 26,809 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,886 shares during the period. First Dallas Securities Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,815,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Partnership Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Able Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Tidemark LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 1,250,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.11, for a total value of $82,637,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 640,532,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,345,610,913.21. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 3,633,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.80, for a total transaction of $242,737,840.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 636,898,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,544,840,574.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 1,250,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.11, for a total value of $82,637,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 640,532,611 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,345,610,913.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 6,306,511 shares of company stock valued at $420,470,807 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WMT. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Walmart from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Walmart from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 price target (up previously from $81.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.99.

Walmart Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE WMT traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $76.88. 2,352,376 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,365,832. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $77.81. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $71.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $65.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a market cap of $618.39 billion, a PE ratio of 32.84, a PEG ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.61 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

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.