Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,969 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the period. Walmart makes up about 1.6% of Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,923,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart by 77.3% in the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP bought a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in Walmart in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 138.3% in the second quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cultivar Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $82.19. 12,181,833 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,532,335. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $49.85 and a twelve month high of $83.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $79.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $71.09. The company has a market cap of $660.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.73, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.51.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. Roth Mkm upped their target price on Walmart from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Oppenheimer boosted 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. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total transaction of $166,607.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 459,558 shares in the company, valued at $37,113,904.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 459,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,113,904.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.96, for a total transaction of $1,088,850.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 593,040 shares in the company, valued at $49,198,598.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,334,337 shares of company stock worth $958,577,287 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.