Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC Boosts Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 28.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,436 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 11,238 shares during the quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $4,516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 425,961,042 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $37,395,120,000 after acquiring an additional 3,224,154 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,943,049,000 after purchasing an additional 3,550,037 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 30.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 33,292,749 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,922,770,000 after purchasing an additional 7,706,201 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 29,843,892 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,696,396,000 after purchasing an additional 233,040 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 25,917,346 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,341,632,000 after buying an additional 2,643,413 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $103.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $822.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.06, a PEG ratio of 4.97 and a beta of 0.66. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $97.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $95.29. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $66.67 and a 12 month high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 21.76%. The firm's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 28,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total value of $2,716,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,064,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $103,252,135. This represents a 2.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.44, for a total value of $216,568.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 628,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,851,623.92. The trade was a 0.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 146,112 shares of company stock worth $14,080,073 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on WMT. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $106.67.

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.

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