Hodges Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Hodges Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 143,052 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,095 shares during the quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $11,551,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Montchanin Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $230,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth $43,000. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.8% during the third quarter. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc now owns 5,136 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 0.8% during the third quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC now owns 56,997 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,603,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the period. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 74.9% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 1,459 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 459,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,113,904.08. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.47, for a total value of $277,410.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 375,165 shares in the company, valued at $34,691,507.55. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,300,460 shares of company stock worth $570,820,065 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group upped their target price on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $73.00 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-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.11.

Walmart Stock Up 0.4 %

WMT stock opened at $95.70 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $96.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The company has a market cap of $769.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $84.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.00.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

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.