Allen Capital Group LLC Boosts Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Allen Capital Group LLC raised its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 55,971 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,937 shares during the period. Allen Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,520,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Walmart by 181.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,861,234 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,421,342,000 after purchasing an additional 36,625,314 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 479.6% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,492,200,000 after purchasing an additional 15,290,936 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in Walmart by 284.0% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,122,273 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $669,227,000 after purchasing an additional 8,225,552 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 8,814.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,963,218 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $562,280,000 after purchasing an additional 6,885,106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BlueSpruce Investments LP grew its stake in Walmart by 186.6% in the first quarter. BlueSpruce Investments LP now owns 10,332,775 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $621,723,000 after purchasing an additional 6,727,200 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of WMT stock opened at $88.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The company has a market cap of $709.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.25, a PEG ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.54. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.85 and a 1-year high of $88.64.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WMT shares. Barclays boosted their price target on Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America boosted their price target on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Walmart from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.49.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.48, for a total value of $232,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 384,165 shares in the company, valued at $29,765,104.20. This represents a 0.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value of $209,607,941.31. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 630,501,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,781,873,820.76. The trade was a 0.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.