Umpqua Bank Grows Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Umpqua Bank raised its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 17.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 7,981 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,189 shares during the period. Umpqua Bank’s holdings in Walmart were worth $644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Radnor Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at $6,005,000. Callahan Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 207,234 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $16,734,000 after acquiring an additional 2,100 shares during the period. Leslie Global Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth about $209,000. One Plus One Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $328,000. Finally, Catalina Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 19,106 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,543,000 after acquiring an additional 2,441 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Walmart from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.96, for a total transaction of $1,088,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 593,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,198,598.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.96, for a total value of $1,088,850.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 593,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,198,598.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value of $209,607,941.31. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 630,501,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,781,873,820.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of WMT traded up $0.71 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $84.39. The stock had a trading volume of 1,129,220 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,720,369. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $49.85 and a 1 year high of $85.11. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $80.08 and its 200 day moving average is $71.58. The firm has a market cap of $678.35 billion, a PE ratio of 43.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.22.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.61 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS 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.