Investment Advisory Group LLC Increases Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Investment Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 6,182 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. Investment Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $499,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WMT. AHL Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 192.1% in the first quarter. AHL Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,000 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,444,000 after purchasing an additional 15,785 shares during the last quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the first quarter worth about $270,000. Commerce Bank increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 189.4% in the first quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 917,625 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $55,213,000 after purchasing an additional 600,521 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 290.7% in the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 270,065 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $16,250,000 after purchasing an additional 200,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 189.4% in the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 643,848 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,740,000 after purchasing an additional 421,366 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE:WMT traded up $1.42 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $81.71. The stock had a trading volume of 13,273,996 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,227,215. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $49.85 and a one year high of $81.82. The company has a market capitalization of $657.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.92, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $76.80 and a 200 day moving average of $69.07. 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The company had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.61 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Walmart from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Walmart from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Walmart from $81.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.96.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 632,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,648,499. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 632,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,648,499. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.61, for a total value of $2,056,445.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,931,301 shares in the company, valued at $277,589,163.61. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,335,272 shares of company stock valued at $958,101,276. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.