Raymond James & Associates Boosts Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,766,325 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 484,196 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises about 0.8% of Raymond James & Associates’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Raymond James & Associates owned about 0.21% of Walmart worth $1,353,881,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AHL Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Walmart by 192.1% in the 1st quarter. AHL Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,000 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,444,000 after purchasing an additional 15,785 shares during the last quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the first quarter valued at approximately $270,000. Commerce Bank boosted its position in Walmart by 189.4% during the first quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 917,625 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $55,213,000 after acquiring an additional 600,521 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 290.7% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 270,065 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $16,250,000 after acquiring an additional 200,947 shares during the period. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 189.4% in the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 643,848 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,740,000 after acquiring an additional 421,366 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,065 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total value of $166,624.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 457,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,915,110.17. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,065 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total value of $166,624.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 457,493 shares in the company, valued at $36,915,110.17. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 632,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,648,499. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,267,901 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock traded up $0.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $81.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 12,324,148 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,134,037. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $49.85 and a twelve month high of $81.82. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $77.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $654.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.75, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its 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. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. Walmart’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.61 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.96.

Walmart Company 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.