Narwhal Capital Management Raises Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Narwhal Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 11.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,450 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,546 shares during the quarter. Narwhal Capital Management’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,046,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Opes Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 2nd quarter valued at about $224,000. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC increased its position in Walmart by 4.3% during the second quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $462,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 7.5% in the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 692,053 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $46,859,000 after acquiring an additional 48,205 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 0.3% during the second quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 587,534 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,782,000 after acquiring an additional 1,883 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fluent Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fluent Financial LLC now owns 66,218 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,484,000 after acquiring an additional 2,545 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $76.68 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $71.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.38. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $49.85 and a 52 week high of $77.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $616.37 billion, a PE ratio of 32.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 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 analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.61 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.99.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 3,633,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.80, for a total value of $242,737,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 636,898,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,544,840,574.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 3,633,800 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.80, for a total transaction of $242,737,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 636,898,811 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,544,840,574.80. The transaction 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.48, for a total transaction of $232,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 384,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,765,104.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,144,237 shares of company stock worth $730,497,016. 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.