West Paces Advisors Inc. Acquires 3,950 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

West Paces Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 208.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,841 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,950 shares during the quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $351,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Partnership Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Able Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Tidemark LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.85, for a total transaction of $877,406.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 658,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,031,755.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.85, for a total value of $877,406.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 658,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,031,755.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total value of $177,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 521,613 shares in the company, valued at $30,816,896.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,480,846 shares of company stock worth $949,751,461 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WMT. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $64.33 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, HSBC upped their target price on Walmart from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.97.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT traded up $0.87 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $68.29. 14,152,889 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,122,811. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $63.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.05. The stock has a market cap of $549.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.23, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $49.85 and a one year high of $69.04.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $161.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $159.57 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 2.88%. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.