Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Acquired by Trust Co of the South

Trust Co of the South increased its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,509 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for about 0.4% of Trust Co of the South’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Trust Co of the South’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,727,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Northwest Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 199.3% during the 1st quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 440 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Able Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT stock traded down $1.33 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $68.46. 23,578,664 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,048,109. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $49.85 and a twelve month high of $71.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.35. The firm has a market cap of $550.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.50.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.60, for a total transaction of $926,625.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 632,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,648,499. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.60, for a total value of $926,625.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 632,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,648,499. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director S Robson Walton sold 3,540,250 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.55, for a total transaction of $228,523,137.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 648,504,011 shares in the company, valued at $41,860,933,910.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,537,863 shares of company stock worth $954,247,577. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WMT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Walmart in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $81.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Walmart from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. HSBC upped their price target on Walmart from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.60.

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.