West Branch Capital LLC Raises Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

West Branch Capital LLC increased its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 66,881 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,597 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for approximately 1.9% of West Branch Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. West Branch Capital LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $5,401,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hoese & Co LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth $33,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the first quarter worth $25,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 138.3% in the second quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 216.4% in the first quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 503 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total value of $166,607.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 459,558 shares in the company, valued at $37,113,904.08. 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 at this link. In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.19, for a total transaction of $207,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 387,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,787,946.35. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total transaction of $166,607.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 459,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,113,904.08. The trade was 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 worth $958,267,901 over the last three months. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Walmart from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup raised their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Bank of America raised their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group raised their price target on Walmart from $81.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. One 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $82.96.

Walmart Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE WMT traded up $0.42 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $81.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 12,324,148 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,648,294. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $653.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.28, a P/E/G ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.51. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $81.82. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.61.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.61 earnings per share. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.