West Family Investments Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

West Family Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 5.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,872 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,528 shares during the period. Walmart comprises about 0.8% of West Family Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. West Family Investments Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,331,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in Walmart during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth about $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 138.3% during the second quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 253.0% in the first quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC now owns 526 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $84.08 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $675.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.51. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $49.85 and a one year high of $85.79. The business has a fifty day moving average of $81.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.15. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.48, for a total value of $232,440.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 384,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,765,104.20. This represents a 0.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 0.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647 in the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Walmart from $81.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.71.

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.