Empower Advisory Group LLC Has $229.40 Million Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Key Points

• Empower Advisory Group LLC reduced its stake in Walmart by 0.3%, holding 2,613,040 shares valued at approximately $229.4 million, making Walmart the 27th largest position in its portfolio.
• Walmart received favorable ratings from analysts, with thirty analysts rating it as a buy and a consensus target price of $106.67, indicating strong market confidence.
• Insider transactions included significant sales, with EVP Kathryn J. Mclay selling 28,000 shares for approximately $2.72 million, reflecting ongoing insider trading activity at Walmart.

Empower Advisory Group LLC cut its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 0.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,613,040 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 7,703 shares during the period. Walmart makes up approximately 0.7% of Empower Advisory Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Empower Advisory Group LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $229,399,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 98.2% in the first quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. now owns 337 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Lipe & Dalton grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 95.2% in the 1st quarter. Lipe & Dalton now owns 410 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new stake in Walmart in the 1st quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Vega Investment Solutions bought a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $54,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WMT shares. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen raised Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. KeyCorp raised their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Walmart from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $103.00 price target (up from $102.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $106.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 28,000 shares of Walmart 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,064,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,252,135. The trade was a 2.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.44, for a total value of $216,568.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 628,318 shares of the company's stock, valued at $61,851,623.92. This represents a 0.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 146,112 shares of company stock worth $14,080,073 in the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walmart Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $99.49 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.22. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $66.67 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The firm has a market cap of $793.95 billion, a PE ratio of 42.52, a PEG ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $96.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.13.

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

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