Smith Group Asset Management LLC Has $15.60 Million Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Smith Group Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 111.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 259,200 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 136,500 shares during the period. Smith Group Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $15,596,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 199.3% during the first quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 440 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares during the period. Partnership Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Able Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Walmart from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Walmart from $64.33 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Walmart from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 25,578 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.58, for a total value of $1,728,561.24. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 390,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,367,350.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 25,578 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.58, for a total transaction of $1,728,561.24. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 390,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,367,350.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 521,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,816,896.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,525,340 shares of company stock worth $953,023,399. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of WMT traded up $1.80 on Friday, hitting $70.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 21,586,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,917,258. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $64.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.90. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $49.85 and a fifty-two week high of $70.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $563.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.50.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.08. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 2.88%. The business had revenue of $161.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $159.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.43 EPS for the current 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.