West Branch Capital LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

West Branch Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 66,881 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,597 shares during the period. Walmart makes up approximately 1.9% of West Branch Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. West Branch Capital LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $5,401,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Walmart by 199.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,745,334 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $24,774,717,000 after acquiring an additional 274,229,968 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Walmart by 181.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,861,234 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,421,342,000 after acquiring an additional 36,625,314 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in Walmart by 187.4% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 13,303,200 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $800,454,000 after acquiring an additional 8,674,100 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in Walmart by 284.0% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,122,273 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $669,227,000 after acquiring an additional 8,225,552 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Walmart by 184.1% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 12,567,533 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $756,188,000 after acquiring an additional 8,144,393 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.19, for a total transaction of $207,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 387,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,787,946.35. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.61, for a total transaction of $2,056,445.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,931,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $277,589,163.61. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.19, for a total transaction of $207,570.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 387,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,787,946.35. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,267,901. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on WMT shares. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.96.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock traded up $0.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $81.31. The stock had a trading volume of 12,324,148 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,648,294. The firm has a market capitalization of $653.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.28, a P/E/G ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $77.90 and its 200 day moving average is $69.61. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $49.85 and a one year high of $81.82.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.61 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.