Clarus Group Inc. Raises Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Clarus Group Inc. increased its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 9.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,222 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,566 shares during the period. Walmart makes up about 0.6% of Clarus Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Clarus Group Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,471,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Walmart in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 138.3% during the second quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Cultivar Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the second quarter valued at $29,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 253.0% during the first quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC now owns 526 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares during the period. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Walmart by 216.4% during the first quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 503 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Walmart stock traded down $0.35 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $80.96. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,104,629 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,060,080. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $81.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $77.90 and a 200 day moving average of $69.68. The company has a market capitalization of $650.78 billion, a PE ratio of 42.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.07 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 announced 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 return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The company had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.61 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 630,501,148 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,781,873,820.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total value of $166,607.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 459,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,113,904.08. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,267,901 over the last three months. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Walmart from $81.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Walmart from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Barclays raised their price objective on Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Walmart from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.96.

About Walmart

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.