Bayesian Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT – Free Report) by 167.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,101 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,201 shares during the period. Bayesian Capital Management LP’s holdings in Walmart were worth $3,111,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. AMI Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Walmart by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,269 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,231,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 36.8% during the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 4,820 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $718,000 after buying an additional 1,296 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 31.7% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,162 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $173,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Ergoteles LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 123.9% during the 1st quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 10,566 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,573,000 after buying an additional 5,847 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in Walmart by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 857,839 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $127,749,000 after purchasing an additional 13,985 shares during the period. 33.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $163.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 14th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $165.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Friday, May 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 18th. Credit Suisse Group upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $176.51.
Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart
In other news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 1,369,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total value of $213,564,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 242,553,516 shares in the company, valued at $37,838,348,496. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 1,369,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total value of $213,564,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 242,553,516 shares in the company, valued at $37,838,348,496. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP David Chojnowski sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.74, for a total transaction of $626,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 39,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,265,681.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,866,773 shares of company stock worth $1,219,993,258. 46.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Walmart Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE:WMT traded up $0.50 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $164.27. The stock had a trading volume of 1,497,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,892,195. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $158.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $151.89. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $128.07 and a 1-year high of $164.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $442.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.54, a PEG ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.83.
Walmart (NYSE:WMT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 17th. The retailer reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.15. Walmart had a net margin of 2.23% and a return on equity of 21.47%. The company had revenue of $161.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.77 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
About Walmart
Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, and other units 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, walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, and samsclub.com; and mobile commerce applications.