West Family Investments Inc. Buys 1,528 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

West Family Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,872 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,528 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises approximately 0.8% of West Family Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. West Family Investments Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,331,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 77.3% in the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Hoese & Co LLP bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 138.3% in the 2nd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on WMT. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $92.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $86.71.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $84.08 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.80. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $49.85 and a one year high of $85.79. The firm has a market cap of $675.86 billion, a PE ratio of 43.80, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $81.43 and a 200 day moving average of $73.15.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total transaction of $2,348,559.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,873,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $312,322,993.92. This trade represents a 0.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 593,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,198,598.40. This represents a 2.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647 in the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.