Strong Tower Advisory Services Buys 1,508 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Strong Tower Advisory Services lifted its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 5.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,045 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,508 shares during the period. Strong Tower Advisory Services’ holdings in Walmart were worth $2,345,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Trust Co of the South increased its position in Walmart by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 25,647 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,071,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. LVZ Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 1.9% during the second quarter. LVZ Inc. now owns 7,824 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $530,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. Delta Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 0.4% in the second quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 41,813 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,831,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 2.6% in the second quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 5,893 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $399,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Finally, M. Kraus & Co boosted its stake in Walmart by 2.5% during the second quarter. M. Kraus & Co now owns 6,168 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $418,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Melius Research began coverage on Walmart in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price 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 target on Walmart from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $81.96.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.97, for a total transaction of $242,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 381,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,862,930.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.97, for a total transaction of $242,910.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 381,165 shares in the company, valued at $30,862,930.05. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.61, for a total transaction of $2,056,445.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,931,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $277,589,163.61. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,337,670 shares of company stock worth $958,267,937 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

Walmart stock traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $79.88. The stock had a trading volume of 2,093,501 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,245,922. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $49.85 and a 52-week high of $81.60. The company has a market capitalization of $642.10 billion, a PE ratio of 41.52, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $76.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

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